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Wayfield Primary School

Primary · Chatham · ME5 0HH

Data updated

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Urgent improvement

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

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

Ofsted placed this school in a statutory category of concern, special measures, at the inspection of 4 December 2025. It stands until a later inspection lifts it.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Urgent improvementAchievement: Urgent improvementAttendance & behaviour: Urgent improvementPersonal development: Needs attentionInclusion: Urgent improvementLeadership & governance: Urgent improvementEarly years: Needs attentionPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 4 December 2025 · report published 5 February 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

428 pupils · 114% of 375 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
35.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
13.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.wayfield.medway.sch.uk
URN
143909

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 30 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.00 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 report-card inspection on 4 December 2025, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Urgent improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 30 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.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Cutoff by admission criterion (2025 entry)

Criterion not stated
9969.93 m (≈6.20 mi)

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
31%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
3%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
101
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
101
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 school31%
Median of its 12 closest peers70%
Medway average61.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind 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
Oaklands SchoolChatham · under 1 mile awayGood70%
Wilkinson Primary SchoolBilston · 138 miles awayExpected standard72%
King Offa Primary AcademyBexhill-on-Sea · 36 miles awayGood70%
Blackheath Primary SchoolRowley Regis · 134 miles awayExpected standard63%
Newstead Primary AcademyStoke-on-Trent · 159 miles awayOutstanding83%
Priestsic Primary and Nursery SchoolSutton-in-Ashfield · 144 miles awayGood42%
Netherfield Primary SchoolNottingham · 130 miles awayGood51%
Old Clee Primary AcademyGrimsby · 154 miles awayGood74%
Joseph Turner Primary SchoolTipton · 137 miles awayGood70%
Park Lane Primary SchoolNuneaton · 119 miles awayGood80%
Poplar Street Primary SchoolManchester · 183 miles awayExpected standard60%
The Milford AcademyNottingham · 129 miles awayNeeds attention71%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 59% (Medway 61%, England 60%) · Black African 12% (Medway 12%, England 5%) · Any other White background 8% (Medway 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Medway 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 3% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Medway 1%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 1% (Medway 3%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · White Traveller of Irish heritage 1% (Medway 0%, England 0%)

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)
7.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
23.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

4.72 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · 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
27.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

83% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 17% 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)

47.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 12 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 £48,857; 17.6% 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£5,806
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 8% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 7% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£155,000

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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)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.4%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications28.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work20%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways31.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier46.8%62.3%
Social housing41.4%17.1%
Privately rented11.7%20.5%
Detached houses3.3%22.9%
Flats16.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van22.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016068 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£285,000330 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£251,000–£331,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (25)£420,000
Semi-detached (137)£318,000
Terraced (149)£270,000
Flat (19)£130,000

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
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
19an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
7an 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