Forest Academy

Forest Academy is a highly effective school where leaders know pupils and families extremely well and use rigorous tracking of vulnerabilities to put pupils' needs at the heart of decisions. The school is part of the Inspire Partnership, and trust support and challenge contribute to a strong culture of success. Pupils achieve highly by the end of Year 6, with outcomes above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils perform particularly well. Behaviour is excellent, attendance is a clear priority, the curriculum is ambitious and broad, early years provision is strong, inclusion is central, and personal development is extensive. Safeguarding standards are met. The main development point is to continue embedding work on written outcomes and vocabulary development across the wider curriculum for all pupil groups, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders already recognise that a small number of pupils struggle to use ambitious vocabulary as much as they would like. Overall, the school provides an excellent education and strong pastoral support, with pupils confident, well prepared for their next steps and benefiting from a wide range of experiences.

Strengths

• Leadership knows pupils and families exceptionally well and uses rigorous vulnerability tracking to put pupils' needs first.
• Leaders at all levels champion equality and build tolerance and respect in the wider community.
• Professional learning is substantial, personalised and supports staff wellbeing and workload.
• Strong community engagement includes sustainable partnerships with the local community council.
• Pupils achieve highly at the end of Year 6, with outcomes above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils perform particularly well.
• Strong foundations in reading, writing and mathematics begin in Reception and include pupils with SEND.
• Attendance systems are comprehensive and linked to barriers to learning, with improvements for all groups.
• Excellent behaviour culture: pupils are respectful, tolerant and kind, and bullying is incredibly rare.
• The curriculum is ambitious and broad, with knowledge building from early years to Year 6 and diverse key texts.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and adapt teaching quickly to address misunderstandings.
• Early years provision is purposeful, with an ambitious curriculum and skilled teaching securing foundational skills.
• Inclusion is central; staff identify needs quickly and support pupils with SEND and other barriers.
• The personal development offer is extensive, including trips, clubs and a global curriculum, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils are confident, independent and well prepared for their next stages of education.
• Pastoral support is extensive and its impact is strategically tracked.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Continue to embed high-quality work to enhance written outcomes across the wider curriculum for all pupil groups, including pupils with SEND.
• Further develop vocabulary use in the wider curriculum so that the small number of pupils who struggle can use ambitious vocabulary consistently.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Forest Academy attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Forest Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Forest Academy had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.2% of pupils at Forest Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Forest Academy received £9,122 and spent £9,093 for each of its 190 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £362,000 (-£1,912 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Inspire Partnership Academy Trust, income was £7,816 and spending £7,668 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

Forest Academy is part of Inspire Partnership Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Woodside Primary School Croydon
• West Thornton Primary School Croydon
• Woodhill Primary School London
• Rockliffe Manor Primary School London
• Foxfield Primary School London
• Elaine Primary School Rochester
• Delce Academy Rochester
• Chattenden Primary School Rochester
• Maundene School Chatham

What is Forest Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Forest Academy is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Forest Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Forest Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Forest Academy have?

Forest Academy has 180 pupils on roll.

What age range does Forest Academy cover?

Forest Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Forest Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Forest Academy?

Forest Academy is at Bridle Road, Shirley, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 8HQ.