Park Way Primary School

Park Way Primary School continues to demonstrate strong performance as a good school. Pupils are engaged and show respect, resilience, and responsibility, consistently meeting high expectations set by their teachers. The school prioritizes personal development and fosters a safe and joyful environment where pupils feel valued and supported. The ambitious curriculum is designed to accommodate mixed-age classes and enables pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to achieve well. Leadership and governance are strong, with effective training for staff and active involvement of parents to enhance support for pupil learning. However, there are areas that need improvement, particularly in the clarity of teachers' explanations in some subjects. The school recognizes the need for teachers to enhance their subject knowledge to facilitate deeper learning and ensure all pupils fully grasp what is being taught. This challenge, if addressed, could elevate the school’s overall performance further.

Strengths

• Pupils embody school values of respect, resilience, and responsibility.
• Wide-ranging opportunities for pupil leadership.
• The school promotes a strong understanding of diversity.
• Teachers check learning frequently to address misconceptions.
• Strong focus on early reading and literacy development.
• Pupils have improved attendance and punctuality.
• Engaging extracurricular activities enrich pupil learning.
• Governance is proactive and shares high ambition for the school.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teachers do not explain learning objectives clearly enough.

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 Park Way Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.6% 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, 2.3% of pupils at Park Way Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Park Way Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.4% 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, 7.2% of pupils at Park Way Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% 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 Park Way Primary School received £6,632 and spent £6,885 for each of its 307 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £150,000 (£489 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 Park Way Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Park Way Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Park Way Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Park Way Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Park Way Primary School have?

Park Way Primary School has 307 pupils on roll.

What age range does Park Way Primary School cover?

Park Way Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Park Way Primary School?

Park Way Primary School is at Park Way, Park Way Primary School, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7AH.