Inspection Summary Report - Fort Hill Integrated College

Fort Hill Integrated College

DE Ref No 425-0072

Inspection Summary Report - September 2025

The school’s recently renewed vision of “to EDUCATE, INTEGRATE and INSPIRE pupils to ACHIEVE their full potential in a supportive, safe and inclusive community” is understood well by pupils, parents, staff, governors and the wider school community.
The pupils are respectful, listen well to one another and interact politely with their peers and adults.
The staff use responsive conversations well to resolve conflicts, promote responsible decision making and foster empathy amongst the pupils; enabling them to live out the school’s core values, “respect, responsible and ready to learn” in a safe environment.
To embed the school’s core values of “respect, responsible and ready to learn”, the staff have introduced successfully the four-phase lesson plan to provide a coherent structure to the lessons.
There is variation in the quality of the planning, teaching and assessment which is impacting on the quality and consistency of the pupils’ learning experiences across the school.
The integration of all pupils is central to the school’s vision and is reinforced by the shared value of respect.
The pupils who require specific, longer-term support outside of the mainstream classroom, currently do not have access to appropriate provision, accommodation and resources which are tailored to their individual needs.
The curriculum for all is not meeting sufficiently enough the varied needs, abilities and aspirations of all the pupils. In 2025, most (77%) year 12 pupils achieved five or more GCSE (or equivalent) qualifications at grades A* to C, and for a majority (50%) this included English and mathematics.
In 2025, a significant minority (43.8%) of year 14 pupils achieved three or more GCE A level (or equivalent) qualifications at grades A* to C. The curriculum offer at post-16 is being reviewed appropriately to broaden the provision and secure better outcomes for pupils.
The pupil’s voice is harnessed through surveys and the Student Voice forum. It is timely for the staff to develop further pupil participation in wider decision-making.
The school has an effective community of learning; there is active collaboration with a range of stakeholders which impacts positively on the holistic development of the pupils.
The staff professional learning is strategically aligned to the school’s key priorities, and it is empowering staff to improve the learning experiences for the pupils.
There is variation between whole school targets and examination outcomes. Target setting needs to be better informed by the departmental and pastoral leaders as well as the pupils’ views and aspirations.
The development of digital skills at KS4 and post-16 is meeting well the needs of the pupils, enabling them to learn and thrive in an increasingly digital age.
At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the school demonstrates that the arrangements for child and adult protection align with the current statutory guidance.

Next steps

Fort Hill Integrated College is fully committed to achieving its vision of “to EDUCATE, INTEGRATE and INSPIRE pupils to ACHIEVE their full potential in a supportive, safe and inclusive community”. The staff and peer mentors use responsive conversations well enabling them to live out the school’s core values, “respect, responsible and ready to learn” in a safe environment.

The inspection has highlighted a number of areas for action which will enable Fort Hill Integrated College to achieve its vision more fully, these are:

to improve the quality of the planning, teaching and assessment;
to review the effectiveness of the curriculum across the school to better meet the needs, abilities and aspirations of the pupils; and
to review the timetable arrangements for the hours of attendance of the Year 13 and Year 14 pupils on Fridays, in line with the Department of Education’s circular 2013/09.

ETI will monitor the progress of Fort Hill Integrated College in addressing the areas for action. There will be a progress inspection.

Inspectors identified an aspect of highly effective practice from which others may learn:

the well-informed strategic whole-school focus on relationship building and restorative practice to support the pupils’ learning, emotional health and well-being.