The Beacon Folkestone
Special / other · Folkestone · CT19 5DN
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Outstanding. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 6 June 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
469 pupils · 100% of 354 capacity
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Age range
- 3–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 53.1% of pupils
- English as additional language
- 7% of pupils
- SEN support
- 0% of pupils
- EHC plan
- 100% of pupils
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Website
- www.thebeacon.kent.sch.uk
- URN
- 119044
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
29 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
GCSE results (2024/2025)
35 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025
Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.
Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)
Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 10% left the state-funded sector
School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Spending per pupil
Total expenditure ÷ pupils, council-maintained school finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Where pupils go after GCSEs
Destinations measured the year after leaving, latest DfE destination measures release.
Inspection history since 2015
- 5 June 2024: School remains Outstanding
- 11 February 2020: S8 No Formal Designation Visit
- 12 February 2019: Outstanding
Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.