Smith’s Wood Academy Review 2026: A West Midlands secondary in special measures, focused on stabilising behaviour, attendance, and classroom routines

Smith’s Wood Academy serves students aged 11 to 16 in the Smith’s Wood area, and sits within Solihull’s coordinated admissions system while operating as an academy within Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust.

The current Principal, Mr Stephen Huntington, was newly appointed by late February 2023, a period that coincided with significant scrutiny and an urgent reset of core school systems.

Inspection history is central to any parent’s assessment. The graded inspection in March 2023 resulted in an Inadequate judgement across all key areas, followed by regular monitoring visits, with the most recent monitoring inspection (March 2025, published May 2025) reporting progress alongside remaining weaknesses.

Day-to-day structure is clearly defined, with a 15:00 finish and extracurricular or intervention sessions running afterwards.

This is a school in a rebuilding phase, where the priority is consistency. The clearest signal is how much attention is placed on routines, attendance, and predictable classroom structures. By spring 2025, monitoring commentary described a stronger staffing picture in key subjects and more consistent lesson structures, including familiar start-of-lesson tasks that students recognise across subjects.

Pastoral messaging also leans towards practical support rather than slogans. The presence of trained Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, including links to the Diana Award Anti-Bullying programme, gives a tangible mechanism for peer support and reporting, rather than relying solely on adult escalation routes.

The library is positioned as a safe, inclusive space and a working environment, stocked with more than 5,000 fiction and non-fiction titles, plus laptops for study and homework. That matters in a school where leaders are trying to rebuild learning habits and reduce time lost to low-level disruption.

There is also visible acknowledgement that some students carry responsibilities outside school. Young Carers information is explicit and age-defined, which tends to help families feel seen and makes it easier for students to self-identify and access support.

The headline performance picture, based on FindMySchool’s rankings drawn from official outcomes data, places Smith’s Wood Academy below England average for GCSE outcomes. Ranked 3,693rd in England and 98th in Birmingham for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), it sits within the lower-performing group of schools in England (bottom 40%).

The underlying metrics point to significant challenge:

• Attainment 8 score: 30

• Progress 8 score: -1.52

• Percentage achieving grade 5 or above in the EBacc: 6.9%

• EBacc average point score: 2.86

For parents, the practical implication is that academic recovery is likely to depend on sustained improvement in attendance, behaviour, and teaching consistency, because those fundamentals are what enable students to build secure knowledge over time.

Parents comparing local options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to view these outcomes alongside nearby schools, particularly because context and alternatives vary across North Solihull and the wider Birmingham travel-to-school area.

The school describes its approach through a “Teaching for Excellence Model” and “Learning Journeys”, framing curriculum delivery as knowledge-focused with consistent structures across subjects.

External monitoring in 2025 aligns with the direction of travel: staffing improvements in English and mathematics are explicitly referenced, and the visit notes that students are receiving more consistent teaching from adults they know.

Reading is treated as a whole-school lever, not just an English department responsibility. Monitoring commentary points to strengthened early-stage reading support and wider work to build a reading culture across the curriculum.

There is also a clear focus on adaptation for different needs. In 2025, training was described as increasingly subject-specific, helping staff become more consistent in how they adapt teaching to meet students’ needs, with a particular emphasis on improving practice in key stage 3 assessment and learning checks.

Smith’s Wood Academy is an 11 to 16 school with no on-site sixth form. The website signposts access to Fairfax Academy Sixth Form for Years 12 and 13, which is likely to be relevant to families who want continuity within the wider trust.

Careers and next-steps preparation is repeatedly referenced in inspection and monitoring materials. The March 2025 monitoring inspection highlights improved careers provision, including Year 10 work experience placements and increased exposure to employers and mentoring.

For students who prefer further education college or apprenticeships, the school’s careers activity is designed to widen awareness of pathways, with inspection-era references to engagement with colleges and apprenticeship providers, and later monitoring pointing to more structured opportunities.

Admissions are coordinated through Solihull Council’s secondary admissions process, with the school operating within the local authority scheme.

For September 2026 entry (children born 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015), Solihull’s published deadline is 31 October 2025, with offers released on 2 March 2026.

The determined arrangements published by the academy set an admission number of 180 for 2026 to 2027 entry, and confirm oversubscription priorities in the familiar sequence of looked-after children, exceptional circumstances, catchment, siblings, then distance (straight-line measurement).

Competition varies year to year. In Solihull’s 2026 admissions guidance (covering September 2025 entry outcomes), the local authority states that everyone who applied to Smith’s Wood Academy was offered a place, with 370 applications recorded for 2025 entry. That is useful context, but it should not be treated as a guarantee for future years.

If your shortlist depends on catchment and distance rules across multiple Solihull schools, use the FindMySchool Map Search to sense-check realistic options before the October deadline.

The school’s improvement story is closely tied to safeguarding and behaviour systems.

The March 2025 Ofsted monitoring letter states that safeguarding is effective, and describes improved systems, clearer tracking, and stronger staff confidence in identifying and reporting concerns.

Alongside this, there are practical student-facing mechanisms: Anti-Bullying Ambassadors (with lunchtime access points), Young Carers support signposting, and “Ready to Learn” equipment expectations intended to remove basic barriers to participation in lessons.

The strongest indicator for parents to track over time will be whether attendance and internal truancy continue to reduce, because these are direct drivers of both safety and achievement, and they have been explicitly targeted in monitoring commentary.

Extracurricular provision is framed as part of the school day, starting immediately after 15:00, and includes both enrichment and intervention sessions.

Several activities stand out because they show depth rather than box-ticking:

• Eco Club has documented practical projects, including biodiversity work around the academy pond area, using microscopes to examine micro-organisms in collected moss samples. The implication for students is that environmental interest is connected to real methods and observation, not just awareness campaigns.

• Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has restarted with visible momentum, including expedition participation and presentation events. A 2024 update describes 22 students taking part in an expedition, the first since 2018, and trust communications later highlight awards presentation activity. This is a meaningful marker of wider personal development because it requires sustained commitment beyond timetabled lessons.

• Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are described as meeting regularly and leading campaigns, with training links to the Diana Award programme. For some families, this will matter as much as academic interventions, because it provides a structured peer layer to safeguarding and wellbeing culture.

• Library and reading culture is supported by resources and events, including lunchtime access and a large catalogue, with newsletters referencing book-focused initiatives.

The published school day runs from gates opening at 08:15 to a 15:00 finish, with tutor time and five lesson periods, plus a combined period and lunch block.

Travel support is signposted through council travel assistance routes, typically delivered as a bus pass or equivalent support, subject to eligibility.

Parking is explicitly flagged as a pressure point around the site, with communications linked to local policing and road safety concerns. Families who drive should plan for congestion and consider alternatives where possible.

• Inspection status and trajectory. The March 2023 Ofsted inspection judged the academy Inadequate, and it remains in special measures with regular monitoring. The most recent monitoring cycle recognises progress, but also makes clear that further work is required to exit special measures.

• Academic outcomes remain a challenge. A Progress 8 score of -1.52 and the school’s GCSE ranking position indicate that many students have not been achieving as well as they should. Families should look for clear evidence of improving consistency in teaching, attendance, and learning checks.

• No on-site sixth form. Post-16 planning needs to start early, with pathways likely to include Fairfax Academy Sixth Form or further education colleges, depending on the student’s goals.

• Admissions numbers and demand can shift. The academy’s determined admission number for 2026 to 2027 is set out in published arrangements, and local authority data shows that entry demand and offer patterns vary across Solihull schools year to year.

Smith’s Wood Academy is best understood as a school working through a demanding improvement programme, with clear emphasis on routines, staffing stability, safeguarding systems, and rebuilding learning habits. It will suit families who want a local 11 to 16 school and who are prepared to engage closely with the school’s behaviour and attendance expectations as part of academic recovery. For students who respond well to structured lessons, consistent classroom starts, and targeted support in reading and core subjects, the direction of travel described in recent monitoring may feel encouraging.