SchoolFacts.uk

Sandling Primary School

Primary · Maidstone · ME14 2JG

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 7 May 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

421 pupils · 100% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
10.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
11.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.sandling.kent.sch.uk/
URN
118511

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 33 families named it first for 44 Reception places, 0.75 first choices per place. We hold 4 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 7 May 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.75 first-choice applications per place

44 places offered · 33 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

60 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
67%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
10%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school67%
Median of its 12 closest peers68%
Kent average63.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Heron Hill Primary SchoolKendal · 250 miles awayGood69%
The Hill Primary SchoolReading · 66 miles awayGood64%
Woodmansterne Primary SchoolBanstead · 30 miles awayGood67%
Cragside Primary SchoolNewcastle-upon-Tyne · 271 miles awayOutstanding83%
Woodstock Church of England Primary SchoolWoodstock · 89 miles awayOutstanding73%
Brunel Field Primary SchoolBristol · 135 miles awayGood70%
St Nicholas CofE Primary SchoolKenilworth · 116 miles awayGood64%
Barnfields Primary SchoolStafford · 152 miles awayGood73%
St James CofE Primary School, Daisy HillBolton · 201 miles awayGood65%
Winnington Park Community Primary and Nursery SchoolNorthwich · 188 miles awayExpected standard56%
Gomersal Primary SchoolCleckheaton · 193 miles awayGood64%
Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary SchoolRayleigh · 21 miles awayGood70%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 76% (Kent 70%, England 60%) · Any other White background 7% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · Black African 3% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Kent 1%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 1% (Kent 3%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Kent 3%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Kent 1%, England 0%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
8.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

6.73 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 3.00 suspensions and 0.01 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
23.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

95% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

66.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 3.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,388; 10% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£5,871
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £264,399; in-year balance -£5,583

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher29.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications16.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work37.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways13.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health50.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier79.5%62.3%
Social housing13%17.1%
Privately rented7.5%20.5%
Detached houses28.6%22.9%
Flats4.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms25%21.1%
Households with no car or van10.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01024385 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£400,000131 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£322,000–£497,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (34)£529,000
Semi-detached (63)£415,000
Terraced (10)£320,000
Flat (24)£190,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
17an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools