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Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard

Primary · Ebbsfleet · DA10 1AD

Data updated

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Exceptional

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: ExceptionalAchievement: ExceptionalAttendance & behaviour: ExceptionalPersonal development: ExceptionalInclusion: ExceptionalLeadership & governance: ExceptionalEarly years: Strong standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 30 June 2026 · report published 15 September 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

447 pupils · 99% of 450 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
15.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
20.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.cherryorchardprimaryacademy.org.uk
URN
142517

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 132 families named it first for 59 Reception places, 2.24 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.193 miles; distance decided places in 4 of the 4 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2023 to 2026. At its report-card inspection on 30 June 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Exceptional. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

2.24 first-choice applications per place

59 places offered · 132 first-choice applications · heavily oversubscribed

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. Places by distance, last offered at 0.193 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.193 miles

measured in a straight line.

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
83%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
29%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
109
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
109
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 school83%
Median of its 12 closest peers69%
Kent average63.6%
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
Leigh Academy Langley ParkMaidstone · 18 miles awayGood (2019)74%
Glade Primary SchoolIlford · 15 miles awayGood (2016)79%
Yardley Primary SchoolLondon · 20 miles awayOutstanding97%
Gwyn Jones Primary SchoolLondon · 16 miles awayNo current grade55%
Camestone SchoolBedford · 58 miles awayGood48%
Higher Lane Primary SchoolManchester · 182 miles awayNeeds attention62%
Cornerstone CofE (VA) Primary SchoolFareham · 78 miles awayNo current grade82%
St Peter's Catholic Primary School, WinchesterWinchester · 76 miles awayGood58%
Beaconside CofE Primary SchoolPenrith · 257 miles awayGood51%
Normanton Common Primary AcademyNormanton · 173 miles awayGood73%
Repton Manor Primary SchoolAshford · 30 miles awayGood67%
Park View Primary SchoolManchester · 181 miles awayExpected standard71%

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

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
14 of 15 places taken nearly full

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 42% (Kent 70%, England 60%) · Black African 17% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Any other White background 8% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 8% (Kent 3%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 7% (Kent 3%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 4% (Kent 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Kent 1%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Kent 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · 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)
3.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
7.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

2.90 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
32.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

76% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 6% moved to another state school · 18% 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)

60% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.1 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 £50,383; 37.5% 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 (2024-25)

This school£5,927
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 84% (77%) · premises 1% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£326,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, 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)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher56.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications4.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work57.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways4%18.1%
Residents in very good health66.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier83.6%62.3%
Social housing6.6%17.1%
Privately rented9.8%20.5%
Detached houses19%22.9%
Flats28.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms27.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van6.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01035280 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£348,000454 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£290,000–£474,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (67)£600,000
Semi-detached (112)£450,000
Terraced (108)£360,000
Flat (167)£285,000

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

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (0.31 km, 2026 entry): 120 sales, median £375,500. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

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
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
1an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an 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