SchoolFacts.uk

The Academy of Woodlands

Primary · Gillingham · ME7 2DU

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 25 March 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

758 pupils · 120% of 630 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
39.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
16.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
17.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.theacademyofwoodlands.co.uk
URN
139493

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 68 families named it first for 72 Reception places, 0.94 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2025 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 25 March 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 6.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

72 places offered · 68 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

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 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 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 2025, 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)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
69%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
7%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
105
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
104
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 school69%
Median of its 12 closest peers61.5%
Medway average61.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of 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
Northlands Primary School and NurseryBasildon · 13 miles awayGood64%
Whitmore Primary School and NurseryBasildon · 14 miles awayGood57%
Barnsole Primary SchoolGillingham · under 1 mile awayGood52%
Greenholm Primary SchoolBirmingham · 132 miles awayGood65%
St. George's SchoolColchester · 37 miles awayGood56%
Layton Primary SchoolBlackpool · 227 miles awayOutstanding65%
Beeston Primary SchoolLeeds · 188 miles awayGood59%
St Paul's Church of England AcademySt Leonards-on-Sea · 36 miles awayGood72%
Kirton Primary SchoolBoston · 110 miles awayGood63%
Yew Tree Primary SchoolWalsall · 135 miles awayExpected standard50%
Ernesettle Community SchoolPlymouth · 217 miles awayOutstanding82%
Yew Tree Community SchoolOldham · 187 miles awayRequires improvement60%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 62% (Medway 61%, England 60%) · Black African 7% (Medway 12%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Medway 3%, England 3%) · Any other White background 4% (Medway 7%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 4% (Medway 3%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Medway 1%, England 3%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Medway 1%, England 5%) · Any other Black background 2% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · other groups together 2%

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)
6.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

1.77 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Medway: 2.72 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
25.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

68% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 13% moved to another state school · 19% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

83.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 7 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 £46,991; 12.5% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher26.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work31.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways21.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier72.1%62.3%
Social housing9.9%17.1%
Privately rented17.9%20.5%
Detached houses12.9%22.9%
Flats5.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms14.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van19.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016043 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£295,000445 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£259,000–£339,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (31)£400,000
Semi-detached (103)£340,000
Terraced (294)£285,000
Flat (17)£170,000

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
5an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
8an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
33an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
6an 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