East Barnet School

East Barnet School is a large, above-average-sized secondary school within the East Barnet trust. At this inspection, safeguarding standards were met, and every evaluated area — achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision — was judged to be at the strong standard. Pupils, particularly in key stage 4, achieve highly, and pupils with SEND make strong progress from their individual starting points. Strengths are broad: high expectations for attendance and behaviour are embedded, classrooms are calm, the curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, teaching is consistently strong, reading is prioritised, and inclusion is central with bespoke support. Leadership and governance are highly effective, pupils feel safe and proud, and post-16 students achieve well and progress to high-quality destinations. No domain is flagged as underperforming or needing attention, and the school meets safeguarding standards. The main improvement priorities set out in the report are to sustain recent improvements in disadvantaged pupils' attendance and to continue narrowing the achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. Given the school's well-above-average proportion of pupils with EHC plans, its inclusive support is a notable strength, though these two priorities remain the areas to monitor.

Strengths

• Pupils, especially in key stage 4, achieve highly in national tests.
• Pupils with SEND make strong progress from their individual starting points.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils show previous achievement gaps are narrowing.
• Attendance is improving, particularly for pupils with SEND.
• High expectations for behaviour are firmly embedded across the school.
• Classrooms are calm and pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced.
• Teaching is consistently high quality, with secure subject knowledge and clear explanation.
• Reading is a high priority, with effective support for pupils at earlier stages.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with bespoke and timely support for additional needs.
• Leadership and governance are very strong, with accurate self-evaluation and effective staff support.
• The personal development programme is ambitious, inclusive and offers a wide range of opportunities.
• Post-16 provision is inclusive and ambitious, with improved outcomes and strong destinations.
• Pupils feel safe, supported and proud to be part of the school community.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Recent improvements in disadvantaged pupils' attendance need to be sustained.
• The achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils needs to continue narrowing.

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 East Barnet School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.4% 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, 7.3% of pupils at East Barnet School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 East Barnet School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.7% 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, 12.9% of pupils at East Barnet School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.7% 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 East Barnet School received £8,585 and spent £8,598 for each of its 1,431 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £58,000 (£41 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 East Barnet School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for East Barnet School is Strong standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was East Barnet School last inspected by Ofsted?

East Barnet School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does East Barnet School have?

East Barnet School has 1,448 pupils on roll.

What age range does East Barnet School cover?

East Barnet School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are East Barnet School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.9, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is East Barnet School?

East Barnet School is at Chestnut Grove, East Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN4 8PU.