Headcorn Primary School

Headcorn Primary School is a welcoming and friendly school where pupils feel safe, happy and proud to belong. Inspectors found the school effective across all key areas, with pupils working hard, achieving well and benefiting from ambitious goals, including for pupils with SEND. Behaviour is respectful and calm, relationships are strong, and pupils are well supported with their well-being and any behavioural needs. The school has gained momentum since its previous inspection. Leaders, governors and staff share an aspirational vision, curriculum planning is coherent from Reception to Year 6, and reading and phonics are taught well. Attendance is improving through determined work with families and external agencies, and pupils benefit from a wide range of trips, visitors and personal development opportunities. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is in some foundation subjects, where lesson activities are not yet closely matched to the intended curriculum. As a result, pupils do not learn some curriculum content as well as they should. The school has recently expanded to two classes in each year group from Reception to Year 6.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and proud to be part of a welcoming and friendly school.
• The school sets ambitious goals for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils behave respectfully and calmly in lessons and around the school.
• Pupils build respectful and trusting relationships with adults and each other.
• The school provides effective well-being support, including a lunchtime calm corner.
• Leaders and governors share an aspirational vision and understand the school's strengths and challenges.
• The curriculum is coherently planned from Reception to Year 6 so that learning builds securely.
• Reading is taught well, with strong phonics routines and support for pupils falling behind.
• Attendance is steadily improving through close work with pupils, families and external agencies.
• Pupils benefit from trips, visitors and personal development experiences that deepen their understanding.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, lesson activities are not closely matched to the intended curriculum, so pupils do not learn some curriculum content as well as they should.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Headcorn Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 3.0% of pupils at Headcorn Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Headcorn Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.0% of pupils at Headcorn Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Headcorn Primary School received £6,352 and spent £6,408 for each of its 401 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £43,000 (£107 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Maidstone · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Headcorn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Headcorn Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Headcorn Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Headcorn Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Headcorn Primary School have?

Headcorn Primary School has 401 pupils on roll.

What age range does Headcorn Primary School cover?

Headcorn Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Headcorn Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Headcorn Primary School?

Headcorn Primary School is at Kings Road, Headcorn, Kent, TN27 9QT.