A Nottinghamshire primary school has been issued with a formal termination warning notice by the Department for Education following an Ofsted inspection which found the school requires significant improvement.
The warning notice, sent on 13 February 2026 to the members and trustees of Transform Trust, relates to Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School and follows an Ofsted judgement confirmed to the Department for Education on 19 January 2026.
The inspection outcome means the Secretary of State now has powers under the academy’s funding agreement to terminate the school’s contract if sufficient improvement is not secured.
In the letter, the Department for Education said the Ofsted report, published on 9 February, identified a number of areas requiring urgent improvement, particularly around pupil achievement and leadership oversight. Inspectors found recent changes to the curriculum for reading, writing and mathematics must be embedded more quickly to deliver sustained improvements in attainment, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
The notice also highlights concerns about gaps in pupils’ foundational knowledge, with particular weaknesses identified in Key Stage 2 writing. Leaders have been told to ensure staff identify and correct mistakes more rapidly so that errors in spelling, handwriting and sentence construction are not repeated or embedded over time.
Further action is required to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, with the trust instructed to refine its strategy so staff clearly understand where learning gaps exist and how they will be addressed swiftly. Governance arrangements were also raised as an area for improvement, with those responsible for oversight expected to more closely monitor progress and hold school leaders to account for delivering better results.
Attendance remains another focus, with the Department for Education stating the school must maintain efforts to reduce absence levels and ensure more pupils attend regularly.
The Regional Director said he must now be satisfied that Transform Trust has the capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy. If sufficient progress cannot be demonstrated, the Department will consider terminating the funding agreement, which could lead to the school being transferred to a different academy trust.
Transform Trust has been invited to submit written representations in response to the warning notice by 13 March 2026, with an extended response period granted due to the school holiday period. The Department said it was mindful of pressures on school staff and asked the trust to ensure appropriate support arrangements are in place for the workforce during the improvement process.
Copies of the letter have been shared with Ofsted, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Director of Children’s Services and senior academy trust leaders, and the notice is due to be published on GOV.UK.
Termination warning notices are a formal intervention used by the Department for Education when serious concerns are identified about standards or leadership within an academy. While they do not automatically result in structural change, they place trusts under close scrutiny and can ultimately lead to rebrokerage if improvement is not secured within an acceptable timeframe.
