Balfour Junior School
Primary · Chatham · ME4 6QX
Data updated
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 23 May 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
480 pupils · 100% of 480 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 7–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 30.6% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 36.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 15.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 0.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 143880
In figures
An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 23 May 2024 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 3
Cutoff by admission criterion (2025 entry)
- Criterion not stated
- 1273.13 m (≈0.79 mi)
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Chatham school admissions · Medway school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
119 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
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
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.
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 50% (Medway 61%, England 60%) · Black African 10% (Medway 12%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 8% (Medway 3%, England 4%) · Any other White background 8% (Medway 7%, England 7%) · Asian Bangladeshi 6% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Medway 1%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Medway 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Medway 1%, England 5%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Medway 1%, England 0%) · Any other Black background 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Medway 0%, 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)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
1.04 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
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →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
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year
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)
36.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 3.9 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 £49,606; 9.1% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 6% (5%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £18,000; in-year balance +£278,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 22 May 2024: School remains Good
- 5 December 2018: School remains Good
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 5/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 5/10around the middle for England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 29.7% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 16.7% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 30.7% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 16.6% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 46.1% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 74.1% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 1.4% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 24.5% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 8.3% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 11.7% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 19.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 16.6% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016125 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £286,000545 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £245,000–£335,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are cheaper 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
- 11an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 42an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 16an 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