Blackfen School for Girls

Blackfen School for Girls is a good school across all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains a good school following its previous good judgement. The school is a single academy trust and a girls' secondary comprehensive with a mixed sixth form, an on-site resource provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs including autism, and a headteacher who took up post in May 2024. The report notes that no overall effectiveness grade is given for graded inspections from September 2024. Pupils are generally well cared for in a welcoming and friendly environment where staff know them well and have high expectations. Most pupils are polite and respectful, feel safe, and bullying is rare and resolved quickly. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, EBacc uptake has increased, and the sixth form offers an impressive range of courses with strong progression. Careers advice is exceptionally well organised, reading support is prioritised, and pupils with SEND are identified promptly, with high-quality support in the resource provision. Attendance has improved, particularly persistent absence, and governance and staff well-being are strong. However, several areas need further development. Curriculum implementation is not consistently precise in some subjects, and assessment does not always check understanding well enough, which affects depth of knowledge and achievement, including in national examinations. Behaviour expectations are not always applied consistently, especially around mobile phones and punctuality, causing some disruption. Support for pupils with SEND in mainstream classes is not systematically checked or consistently matched to their needs, so some do not access the curriculum as well as they should. Attendance and punctuality also remain priorities for some families.

Strengths

• Welcoming and friendly environment with staff who know pupils well
• High expectations and effective daily care and support
• Pupils feel safe and bullying is rare and resolved quickly
• Growing range of additional activities and ambitious residential visits
• Exceptionally well-organised careers programme with high-quality independent advice
• Broad, ambitious curriculum with increased EBacc uptake
• Impressive sixth-form course range and strong progression support
• Well-designed, logically sequenced curriculum in most areas
• Reading is prioritised with systematic identification and strong support
• SEND identification is prompt and resource provision support is high quality
• Behaviour is typically calm and orderly, with positive impact from revised approach
• Improved attendance and significantly reduced persistent absence
• Strong pastoral support and effective personal development curriculum
• Governors are actively involved, provide strong support and understand the school well
• Leaders are mindful of staff workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is not sufficiently precise in some subjects
• Assessment and checking of pupils' understanding are inconsistent in some areas
• Some pupils achieve less well, including in national examinations
• Behaviour expectations are not consistently applied across the school
• Inconsistent management of mobile phone use causes some disruption
• Punctuality and arrival to lessons are not consistently enforced
• Support for some pupils with SEND in mainstream classes is not systematically checked
• Mainstream SEND provision is not always matched to pupils' needs and starting points
• Attendance and punctuality remain priorities for some families

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 Blackfen School for Girls attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.6% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Blackfen School for Girls 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 Blackfen School for Girls had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.3% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Blackfen School for Girls were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 28 pupils.

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 Blackfen School for Girls received £8,225 and spent £8,459 for each of its 1,403 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £516,000 (£368 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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• Secondary Schools

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What is Blackfen School for Girls's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blackfen School for Girls is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Blackfen School for Girls last inspected by Ofsted?

Blackfen School for Girls was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Blackfen School for Girls have?

Blackfen School for Girls has 1,324 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blackfen School for Girls cover?

Blackfen School for Girls for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Blackfen School for Girls's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.2, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Blackfen School for Girls?

Blackfen School for Girls is at Blackfen Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 9NU.