St Paul's Infant School

St Paul’s Infant School is a highly inclusive institution, successfully maintaining the standards identified at its previous inspection. Pupils thrive in a nurturing environment where they feel safe and are encouraged to develop their unique talents. The school's strong emphasis on emotional support and high expectations in behavior and learning fosters a positive attitude among students, leading to overall good achievement. Additionally, effective measures have been put in place to improve attendance, and pupils are noted for their resilience and responsibility in the school community.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive school culture that celebrates unique talents
• Strong emotional support for students fostering confidence
• Ambitious and well-designed curriculum covering a full range of subjects
• High-quality phonics teaching and effective reading strategies
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and provide clear explanations

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clearly defined essential knowledge for pupils

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 St Paul's Infant School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.6% 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, 3.4% of pupils at St Paul's Infant 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 St Paul's Infant School had 17.0 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, 27.3% of pupils at St Paul's Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 St Paul's Infant School received £7,847 and spent £7,932 for each of its 242 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £114,000 (£470 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 St Paul's Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Paul's Infant School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Paul's Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Paul's Infant School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Paul's Infant School have?

St Paul's Infant School has 242 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Paul's Infant School cover?

St Paul's Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is St Paul's Infant School?

St Paul's Infant School is at Hillary Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 2BS.