The Beacon School was inspected by Ofsted in June 2022 and received a disappointing report. Although Personal Development was rated “Good,” it was rated as “Required Improvement” for the quality of education, leadership and management and sixth-form provision and “Inadequate” for behaviour and attitudes.

The key message in the report was that whilst most pupils enjoy school, they did not feel safe at the Beacon. The report stated that there had been improvements, but that poor behaviour had become accepted with high levels of truancy, disruptions in class and fights happening around the school.

The school has responded very positively to this report and has set in place an improvement plan led by the new Head of School, James Grant Duff and The Executive Headteacher, Matt Duffield.

James joins The Beacon this term from St Andrew’s Catholic School in Leatherhead where he was Deputy Head. Despite his youthful appearance he has 21 years of teaching experience.

James Grant Duff

He is facing the Ofsted report head on and has initiated a programme of “Getting Back to Basics at the Beacon.” He says I don’t want to make any excuses for the report but accept the findings and want to move on with a programme of improvements.”

Obviously, the quality of education is important, and this year’s results are showing an improvement on past examination grades including one pupil gaining a place at Oxford University. But James wants to make clear that that inter personal skills are also important. He believes in equipping his pupils with the life skills needed for a future successful life. These include leadership, organisational, communication and team player skills. Although there will be specific opportunities for life skills development these skills also come about from a well organised and structured school life.

He describes his approach as based on the following principles:

Qualifications – getting the best possible examination grades for students

Skills – equipping students with life skills for a successful future

Fairness – ensuring consistency throughout the school so that everyone gets the same experience

Systems – establishing and enforcing routines and processes to ensure the school is well managed

One initial step has been to change the length of lessons. Instead of three 100-minute lessons a day, the timetable now includes five 60-minute lessons. This should increase pupils’ concentration and improve variety across the school day.

He is also strictly enforcing the school’s procedure for dealing with disruptive behaviour which has been a problem in the past. He says, “One disruptive pupil can stop a whole class from learning.” The rule now is that any disruptive pupil will receive two warnings in a lesson, and if the disruptive behaviour continues, they will be removed from class and isolated for the rest of the day. The key is for the children to learn from their mistakes and to be guided so they can be as successful as possible. There is a firm consistency in enforcing the school’s rules and all pupils are aware of this.

He is also keen to involve parents and students in the school’s objectives. He says “There is a saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child. It’s the same here. We are all involved, parents, teachers and also fellow pupils, in the success of our pupils. Every child is a potential genius, we just have to unlock it.”

The school circulates a weekly newsletter to all parents which includes a letter from James as well as highlighting star pupils throughout the school.

The Beacon has decided to close its Sixth Form college for new pupils because the number of pupils are insufficient to offer a comprehensive and varied curriculum. It may restart in the future, but for the time being, a partnership had been agreed with colleges such as, Reigate College for pupils to transfer there. Reigate College specialises in providing high quality education for 16 to 19-year-olds. It offers a fantastic range of courses across all disciplines which would not be possible at The Beacon.

One issue that educators have been aware of in recent years is the impact of the COVID pandemic on pupils. Whilst learning has suffered so has discipline as children have not been used to the rules needed in a school environment. This has probably not helped The Beacon. There is also the issue of a few disruptive children having a serious negative impact on the whole school. This is where parents can help by supporting the teaching staff when issues arise.

The Beacon is on the road to recovery and to meet its vision statement: “By 2026 excellent leadership will ensure The Beacon school will be a high achieving and thriving inclusive community which has a relentless focus on excellence. We will deliver excellent teaching which will holistically prepare our students for life by preparing them to achieve excellent qualifications, as well as to acquire the skills and confidence that they will need to succeed in the wider world.”