Students who once struggled to attend school are now thriving at Brook Academy in Brockworth after inspectors praised its “calm and positive culture” and rated it ‘Good’ across all areas.
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Brook Academy recently staged a very successful Year 7 coffee morning for parents and carers of Year 7 students.
Families visited the school for a wonderful morning to reflect on the first four weeks of their child attending Brook Academy.
The event provided an opportunity to strengthen positive relationships and share good practice to support all new Year 7 students.
The team was particularly grateful for the positive feedback on the ‘I like, I notice, and I wonder’ approach.
School leaders said the event helped all parties to know that trust is being built through positive relationships, communication is improving, and young people are enjoying their time at school.
Kay Sarpong, Principal of Brook Academy, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome our Year 7 families into school.
“These coffee mornings are a valuable way to build strong partnerships with parents and carers, ensuring that our students feel supported, heard, and excited about their learning journey here at Brook Academy.”
The school thanked all who attended, and hopes to see as another strong turnout at the next event on Friday 7 November from 11am-12pm.
A reminder will be sent closer to the day, but parents and carers are encouraged to add the date to their calendar.
Students who have previously struggled in school can reengage with their education, build strong relationships with staff and take confident steps into adulthood thanks to Brook Academy in Gloucestershire – a school Ofsted has praised as ‘Good’ in all areas.
Brook earned the glowing report after welcoming a team of inspectors to its Brockworth site for the first time since it opened in 2022.
The Ofsted team spent two days meeting leaders from the school and its parent trust the Cabot Learning Federation, speaking with parents and pupils, and observing lessons and student work.
Afterwards, they praised Brook in a number of areas, while recording formal ratings of ‘Good’ in all four inspection areas; personal development, leadership, behaviour and attitudes, and the quality of education it provides.
Inspectors highlighted the calm and positive culture staff create to help students re-engage with their education after finding lessons difficult in other schools.
In her report, lead inspector Marie Thomas said: “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.
“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.”
The report went on to praise Brook in a number of key areas.
On curriculum, Ofsted said: “The school and trust share the ambition that Brook Academy’s pupils achieve well, both personally and academically.
“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.
On student outcomes, it said: “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.”
On personal development, the report said: “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.”
And on helping students to re-engage with school life, inspectors said: “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.”
Ofsted additionally praised Brook’s ‘effective’ safeguarding and ‘positive’ behaviour management approach, as well as the support offered for reading, speech and language development, and effectiveness of lessons in personal, social, health and economic education.
Ofsted’s findings have been welcomed by leaders within both Brook Academy and the Cabot Learning Federation, as well at Gloucestershire County Council.
Kay Sarpong, Principal of Brook Academy, said:
“We welcome these hugely positive findings from Ofsted as confirmation of our journey towards finding a successful plan and school outcome for every child at Brook Academy.
“It is also testament to all stakeholders within our school community for the trust they put in us when the CLF took over the school in 2023, and all the work put in by staff and students to create a school for us all to be proud of.
“We have definitely landed as a school and as a community, but this is not the end of our ambitions, as we recognise the best is yet to come.”
Sally Apps, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Cabot Learning Federation, said:
“We are delighted for the Brook Academy community that the inspectorate were able to recognise their excellent work.
“In a school where children are able to build friendships and receive the kind of support that helps them to achieve their ambitions, it is reassuring to know that the work undertaken by their teachers, support colleagues, families and partner organisations has been validated by external experts.
“It is an exciting place to go to school and I am looking forward to learning of even more success on behalf of this special community over time.”
And in a letter congratulating Brook Academy on its Ofsted outcome, Ann James, Director of Children’s Services at Gloucestershire County Council, said:
“It was a pleasure to read how the school’s curriculum design is supporting pupils to overcome barriers to engagement.
“Its ambition to build pupils’ confidence, resilience, and positive learning behaviours is clearly making a positive difference to pupils’ lives, creating a range of opportunities to achieve and celebrate pupils’ personal and academic successes.”
We recently had our first Ofsted inspection and we are very pleased and proud to say we got a Good rating.
All the staff and students have worked incredibly hard and the hard work paid off.
Please see the report attached below.
Mrs. Charlotte Ford, Year 11 Teacher, Head of Key Stage 4 English, and Head of Citizenship at Brook Academy, has created a moving video to celebrate a landmark moment in the school’s history — the graduation of its first-ever Year 11 cohort.
This heartfelt tribute honours the dedication, resilience, and personal growth of the students, marking not only the end of their secondary school journey but also a significant milestone for the Academy.
The video captures poignant memories, individual student achievements, and the collective spirit that has defined this pioneering year group.
We have recently received the latest Gatsby Benchmark report. This is used as part of our careers education progression.
Please see the attached link.
We recently sent out some questionnaires for parents/carers to complete.
We have collected the information and are very pleased with the results.
The results can accessed via the link below.
Students at Brook Academy were given valuable insights into a range of future jobs and further education options during the school’s second annual careers event.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, the careers day linked students with a number of key stakeholders from the education and employment sectors.
Students had the opportunity to engage with industry professionals, ask questions, and explore potential career opportunities, helping them make informed decisions about their future.
In addition to benefiting students, the event also provided crucial support for families, signposting them to a variety of services available to them.
Brook Principal Kay Sarpong said: “It was fantastic to see our students engaging with professionals from different industries and education.
“This event is an important part of our commitment to preparing young people for their next steps.
We are extremely grateful to all the businesses and organisations that took the time to inspire and guide our students.”
Brook Academy students have had an assembly on the mis-use of substances from a PCSO.
We’ve just recently held our first progress review with parents, we had some really positive feedback that we would like to share on our website. We really appreciate your feedback.
