At Forest Academy, our learning environments are designed to provoke curiosity, deepen understanding, and celebrate achievement. Every classroom is intentionally organised to reflect all areas of the curriculum and promote visible learning. Topic tables and learning walls are updated termly with artefacts, images, and reflective questions that contextualise the learning and stimulate critical thinking. Our classrooms speak the language of learning — structured, vibrant, and thought-provoking.

Oracy is a vital pillar of our curriculum. It empowers pupils to articulate their ideas clearly, engage meaningfully with others, and deepen their understanding through purposeful dialogue. At Forest, we teach children to learn through talk and to talk. Lessons are carefully designed, modelled, and scaffolded to promote high-quality classroom talk—from structured debate and paired discussion to reflective questioning and reasoning. Oracy enables children to express themselves with confidence, listen with empathy, and build strong communication skills for life.

We recognise that success is shaped not only by knowledge but by character. Through our values-based curriculum, we explicitly teach five core character skills: Wonder, Integrity, Leadership, Relationships, and Mindset. These qualities are woven into every learning experience, empowering pupils to become resilient, reflective, and responsible individuals. A growth mindset underpins our ethos—we believe every child can achieve and encourage perseverance, positive risk-taking, and a "can-do" attitude.

At Forest Academy, research drives innovation. Teachers are active participants in enquiry-based practice, collaborating in professional learning communities to address key priorities and bring about meaningful change. By linking pedagogy to current research, staff develop practical strategies that deepen subject knowledge, refine classroom practice, and raise standards. Framing teachers as researchers ensures our approach remains evidence-informed, reflective, and responsive—benefiting all learners across the school.

Assessment at Forest Academy is purposeful, consistent, and child-centred. Grounded in the belief that every child can achieve, our system ensures that teaching is responsive and focused on progress for all.

Key principles:

• Children are assessed against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each subject.

• Teaching is scaffolded using the National Curriculum to support pupils in meeting these KPIs.

• Pupils are expected to make age-appropriate progress and leave each year group working at least at the expected standard.

• Those who meet all KPIs will deepen their learning, not move prematurely to the next year’s content.

Assessment is ongoing and includes:

• Formative strategies such as questioning, mini-plenaries, and reflection tasks.

• Feedback in line with the Inspire Partnership Feedback Toolkit, fostering dialogue and progress.

• Pupil voice and book scrutiny to triangulate assessment with real learning.

• Use of KPI documents that clearly identify what has been achieved and what comes next.

At the end of each year, teachers make a holistic judgement against the year’s KPIs to determine whether a child is working at, towards, or beyond age-related expectations.

EYFS Assessment

In Reception, children are assessed against the Prime and Specific areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. Assessments are based on observations of play, interactions, and daily activities. At the end of the year, children will be judged against each Early Learning Goal (ELG) as:

• Emerging – not yet meeting the expected level

• Expected – meeting the expected level

• Exceeding – going beyond the expected level

These assessments ensure every child’s unique development is understood and supported as they move into Key Stage 1.