Kingsmead School

Kingsmead School is a large secondary school and part of a single-academy trust. It requires special measures because safeguarding standards are not met and leadership and governance require urgent improvement, even though the school’s education provision is generally secure across achievement, curriculum, inclusion, personal development and post-16. The inspection took place after significant leadership change, including a new chair of trustees in September 2025 and an acting headteacher appointed in December 2025. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages and benefit from a broad, well-sequenced curriculum. Disadvantaged pupils make notable gains in English, pupils with SEND are typically successful alongside their peers, and the school has a strong inclusive culture. Personal development, careers guidance and work experience are well considered, and sixth-form students make steady progress and are prepared for their next steps. Pupils generally enjoy school, attend well and behave positively around the school. However, serious weaknesses in safeguarding overshadow these strengths. Required pre-employment checks and vetting are incomplete for some staff, the single central record has significant gaps, and leaders and trustees have been too slow to act. Governance oversight and challenge are insufficient across safeguarding, attendance, alternative provision and off-rolling. Some pupils report bullying and discriminatory language and are not confident staff will address it, while support for SEND and basic literacy skills is not consistently implemented in classrooms. These failings mean the school is not providing an acceptable standard overall and requires special measures.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages and develop secure knowledge and skills.
• Disadvantaged pupils make notable gains in English and generally achieve above national peers in some measures.
• Pupils with SEND are typically successful alongside their peers and receive effective support.
• The school has an inclusive culture that prioritises vulnerable pupils and identifies needs early.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and sequenced so pupils build learning over time.
• Leaders have an accurate picture of curriculum quality and clear plans for further improvement.
• Personal development is purposeful, including a readiness curriculum and strong careers guidance.
• Sixth-form students make steady progress and are well prepared for university, training and careers.
• Pupils generally enjoy school, attend well and behave positively around the school.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and benefit from effective professional learning.
• Safeguarding policies and training for managing individual pupil concerns are robust and well communicated.

Areas for Improvement

• Safeguarding standards are not met and leaders have not ensured an open and positive safeguarding culture.
• Required pre-employment checks and vetting are incomplete for some staff, and the single central record has significant gaps.
• Leaders and trustees have been too slow to understand and remedy safeguarding weaknesses.
• Leadership and governance require urgent improvement, with insufficient oversight and challenge across key areas.
• Governors and trustees lack capacity to strengthen how they evaluate the impact of leaders’ actions.
• Attendance recording and monitoring for alternative provision are not fully in line with published guidance.
• Procedures for confirming education provision when pupils leave the school roll are not robust.
• Some pupils report bullying, discriminatory language and intolerance, and some lack confidence that staff will address it.
• Teachers do not consistently address weaknesses in handwriting, spelling and grammar for some pupils.
• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently implemented in the classroom.
• Post-16 attainment measures are below national levels, although students’ progress is steady.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Kingsmead School attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 3.3% of pupils at Kingsmead School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Kingsmead School had 14.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 8.2% of pupils at Kingsmead School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Kingsmead School received £9,011 and spent £8,746 for each of its 1,505 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,480,000 (£983 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is Kingsmead School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kingsmead School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Kingsmead School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kingsmead School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Kingsmead School have?

Kingsmead School has 1,484 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kingsmead School cover?

Kingsmead School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Kingsmead School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.1, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kingsmead School?

Kingsmead School is at 196 Southbury Road, Enfield, EN1 1YQ.