Brook Academy

Inspection of Brook Academy Mill Lane, Brockworth, Gloucester GL3 4ZN

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The principal of this school is Kay Sarpong. This school is part of Cabot Learning Federation which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Steve Taylor, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Professor Yvonne Beach. There is also an executive principal, Lis Jolley, who is responsible for this school and four others. 9 and 10 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Before joining Brook Academy, pupils may have experienced long or repeated absences from education. The school’s curriculum is designed to help pupils overcome barriers to engagement. It aims to build their confidence, resilience, and positive learning behaviours. This involves working with pupils to create various opportunities to achieve and celebrate their personal and academic successes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

With appropriate support, pupils learn to recognise and manage their emotions and actions successfully. Pupils are at the centre of the school’s decision-making. Over time, positive working relationships based on trust and respect are built between staff and pupils. This helps create a calm school environment where most pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A well-developed careers programme helps pupils to make informed choices about their post-16 education, employment and training options. Before they move on, pupils attain nationally recognised qualifications and essential life skills such as cooking.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils look forward to spending time with their friends at school. They value and enjoy the school’s enrichment experiences, such as boxing, music and residential trips. These opportunities help pupils to explore and develop new talents and interests. The school’s focus on developing pupils’ mental and physical health and improving their self-esteem prepares them well for adulthood.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school and trust share the ambition that Brook Academy's pupils achieve well, both personally and academically. Since joining the trust, the school has undergone significant change. Regular professional development opportunities mean staff are well-supported to carry out their roles. Checks on the impact of this work accurately inform the school’s ongoing development.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum intent is clear and provides pupils with regular opportunities to revisit and build on what they have learned before. The curriculum’s focus on building pupils' confidence, resilience and positive learning behaviours means they are taught the steps they need to succeed.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Additional support is provided for pupils who need help to secure their early reading, speech and language development. For example, early reading sessions using a published phonics scheme or pre-teaching of vocabulary are provided. This helps pupils to catch up with their peers. Pupils enjoy listening to and responding to books read by the teacher.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In key stage 3, class texts are carefully selected to enhance pupils' cultural capital and understanding of neurodiversity. The books cover a range of themes to encourage class discussion and debate. Personal, social, health and economic education lessons also support improving pupils' language skills. 9 and 10 July 2025

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Staff skilfully use pupils’ education, health and care (EHC) plans to devise Personal Learning Plans (PLP) that support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs. Likewise, the PLPs target gaps in pupils’ subject knowledge that must be closed. However, staff knowledge of the curriculum in some subjects and how to adapt the work to meet pupils’ needs is underdeveloped. Consequently, some academic PLP targets lack precision in weaving through the essential concepts identified in the curriculum intent. Work towards achieving these targets is sometimes done in isolation. Pupils do not have regular opportunities to recall, practise and apply new knowledge in these subjects. As a result, the impact of this work is variable. Pupils are unable to secure new knowledge.

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Pupils know what makes relationships healthy and unhealthy and the importance of consent. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They know the importance of sharing any worries and will get help from the pastoral team if needed. Pupils learn about differences and equality.

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The school adapts its work to encourage and support regular attendance, including work with appropriate external agencies. For most pupils, this work is effective. With support, most pupils successfully transition into full-time education after their previously disjointed education experience.

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The school's work to help staff understand its behaviour management approach is positively impacting. Pupils typically listen well to the teacher and each other. Where derogatory language is used, steps are taken to reflect with the pupil and teach appropriate language choices. The school is working with staff to ensure inappropriate language is effectively addressed.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, staff do not know the curriculum content and expectations sufficiently well. Teaching and learning adaptations are not precise enough to help pupils learn new curriculum content. The trust needs to develop staff knowledge of the curriculum and its expectations to ensure pupils are effectively supported to secure their knowledge in these subjects.  The school’s curriculum is not implemented as intended in some subjects. Pupils’ prior knowledge is not routinely recapped and developed. The trust should ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to revisit and apply prior learning to successfully build their knowledge, skills and vocabulary over time. 9 and 10 July 2025

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school's pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 9 and 10 July 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The Brook Academy is part of the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) multi-academy trust.  The school opened in September 2022. It joined the CLF trust in August 2023.  The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs and speech, language and communication needs.  All pupils have education, health and care plans.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  The school uses five unregistered alternative provisions.

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The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school's education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the chief executive officer (CEO), the deputy CEO, the executive principal and other senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the board of trustees and the academy council, including the chair of the academy council.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, early reading, mathematics and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and staff and pupil surveys. The lead inspector spoke with parents via the telephone.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Esther Best His Majesty's Inspector 9 and 10 July 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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