Beaumont School

Inspection of Beaumont School Austen Way, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0XB

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Sixth-form provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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The headteacher of this school is Martin Atkinson. This school is a single academy trust, Beaumont School Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ian Johnston. 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this highly inclusive school, which expects all its pupils to succeed. Pupils have exemplary attitudes to their learning and engage with the wealth of opportunities available. They become exceptionally well-rounded individuals. Pupils’ academic outcomes at the end of their courses are excellent. They are very well prepared for their next steps in their lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave with maturity. They feel empowered to play a role in maintaining the school’s high standards of behaviour. Pupils feel safe to challenge any behaviour of others that falls below expectations. In lessons, pupils are resilient when faced with challenging learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are countless opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills. Sixth-form students take pride in how they mentor and support younger pupils. Elected pupil parliament members represent their peers and make meaningful change in the school. Pupils lead a wide range of clubs. Pupils organise wider school events, such as culture day. This celebrates the diversity and heritage of the school community through the wearing of national dress and pupils experiencing international cuisine.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school achieves its highly ambitious vision by helping pupils to ‘enjoy and excel’. This ethos permeates school life. Parents and carers, staff and pupils reflect this in their highly positive views of the school.

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

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a strong, broad and ambitious curriculum across all year groups. The curriculum is exceptionally well thought through. It identifies the key information that pupils need to know and remember. Teachers use this information to teach the curriculum in a coherent order.

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

Teachers have strong subject and teaching knowledge. This helps them to present and scaffold new information to pupils with clarity. This gives pupils the confidence and understanding they need to move forward in their learning. For example, in science, sixth- form students confidently tackle quantum mechanics calculations because of knowing the small steps that they need to use. They apply this learning to unfamiliar contexts. Teachers use a range of strategies to check what pupils know and to address any misconceptions effectively. Pupils’ accurate use of subject-specific vocabulary contributes to the high-quality work that they consistently produce.

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

The school swiftly and accurately identifies the needs of pupils with SEND. Teachers use this information to provide these pupils with the help they need to forge ahead in their learning. The school provides pupils with the most complex needs with effective additional support, including by working with external agencies. The school ensures that pupils with SEND achieve very well. 13 and 14 May 2025

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Reading underpins the curriculum in the school. Pupils who struggle to read get the support they need to help them to catch up quickly. This aids their access to the curriculum. There is an established culture of reading in the school. Pupils enjoy reading and do so with skill and accuracy.

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A significant proportion of students newly join the school in the sixth form. The welcoming and inclusive nature of the school means that these students quickly feel like valued members of the school. Students appreciate the approaches that the school adopts to help them become responsible and independent learners. This prepares them well for their later learning, such as university courses and degree apprenticeships.

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While attendance levels are high, leaders are not complacent. The school works closely with families of pupils who are persistently absent. With support, many of these pupils are starting to attend school more frequently.

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There is a rich and well-considered wider development offer. This helps pupils grow into responsible and active citizens. The school’s annual student-led community sport and music festival raises funds for charity. It also provides opportunities for home-grown pupil bands and musicians to perform for the local community. Pupils engage with the range of residential trips that are on offer. These opportunities help them to apply their curriculum learning, develop their awareness of culture and enhance life skills such as resilience and independence. Pupils support the local community through litter picking and performing at local care homes. Pupils buddy with younger pupils in a local primary school. The younger pupils give ideas and themes for a story which the Beaumont pupils then write for, and read to, them. This vast array of activities demonstrates the school’s support for pupils’ moral and character development. The school’s comprehensive careers programme

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further helps to raise pupils’ aspirations.

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High-quality training ensures that staff understand and implement the school’s vision. Staff are highly positive about how the school considers their workload and well-being. Trustees are unwavering in their determination to secure excellence in the school’s work. They have a strong understanding of the school, and as with all leaders in the school, they successfully strive to improve pupils’ education further. Trustees provide effective challenge and support to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 13 and 14 May 2025

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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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,651

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form

Dates of previous inspection 19 and 20 March 2014, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school roll has increased significantly since the last inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  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 qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

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 13 and 14 May 2025

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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 headteacher, other leaders and a range of staff, including support staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: English, mathematics, science, geography, business and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also visited lessons, considered pupils’ work and spoke to pupils in a range of other subjects, including physical education, psychology, sociology and personal, social and health education.

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 The lead inspector held a meeting with a number of trustees.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the school effectiveness adviser.  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 spoke with a range of pupils and staff and considered the results of Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys.  The lead inspector considered the responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Wayne Jarvis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jason Carey Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 May 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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