Platts Heath Primary School

Platts Heath Primary School is a small school within the Aspire Federation, with 56 pupils and well-above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEN support. Inspectors found a caring, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, behave well, and benefit from a coherent personal development programme, effective early reading and phonics teaching, and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders understand the school's strengths and weaknesses and have begun focused improvement work, including strengthening early reading and attendance. However, most areas still require attention. Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, leaving some pupils with gaps in foundational writing, spelling, punctuation and mathematics, and expectations for written work are not high enough. Teachers do not routinely identify and address misconceptions, early years interactions are not consistently purposeful, and support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils is not always adapted precisely enough in class. Attendance remains low and persistent absence high, though leaders have recently taken effective action and the impact is not yet clear. Governance provides appropriate oversight of safety and funding but does not always challenge leaders sharply enough on impact. Much of the improvement work is recent and has not led to rapid enough change, so some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school has clear next steps focused on consistent curriculum delivery, precise support, early years practice, attendance and stronger governor challenge.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Personal development and wellbeing are coherently planned and meet the expected standard.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and well cared for by nurturing staff.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school, with clear routines and rare bullying.
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, with books matched to pupils' sounds.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well planned and coherently sequenced.
• Enrichment, trips and lunchtime clubs are an entitlement for all pupils.
• Leaders provide strong pastoral support and know pupils and families well.
• Leaders have taken effective action to strengthen early reading and reduce suspensions.
• Staff welcome professional development and feel supported by leaders.
• Parents are positive about the school's care and nurture.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding to give disadvantaged pupils wider experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects and year groups.
• Some pupils have gaps in foundational writing, spelling, punctuation and mathematics.
• Expectations for the quality of pupils' written work are not high enough.
• Teachers' checks on learning are not precise enough to identify and address misconceptions.
• Early years adults do not consistently interact purposefully to extend children's thinking and communication.
• Some early years children are not directed to activities that address gaps in their knowledge and skills.
• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently adapted to their needs in lessons.
• Classroom support for disadvantaged pupils lacks precision.
• Pupils' attendance remains low and persistent absence is high.
• Too many pupils miss learning, creating further gaps in knowledge.
• Governors do not consistently provide sufficient challenge on the impact of leaders' work.
• Some improvement work is recent and has not led to rapid enough change.
• Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics have been below national averages over the latest three-year period.

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 Platts Heath Primary School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 26.0% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Platts Heath 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 Platts Heath Primary School had 10.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 23.0% of pupils at Platts Heath Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Platts Heath Primary School received £10,288 and spent £10,508 for each of its 61 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£1,383 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 Platts Heath Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Platts Heath Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Platts Heath Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Platts Heath Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Platts Heath Primary School have?

Platts Heath Primary School has 61 pupils on roll.

What age range does Platts Heath Primary School cover?

Platts Heath Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Platts Heath Primary School?

Platts Heath Primary School is at Headcorn Road, Platts Heath, Maidstone, Kent, ME17 2NH.