Lunsford Primary School

Lunsford Primary School continues to demonstrate good overall performance. The school prepares its pupils effectively for the future by integrating real-world experiences such as visits from a magistrate and workshops on financial management. The strong emphasis on leadership opportunities, well-being, and enrichment activities ensures that students are engaged and thriving. Following their return to a refurbished site, the school has cultivated a welcoming environment, particularly highlighted by the development of a vibrant library that supports a diverse range of reading materials. While early years education is robust with a strong focus on developing language and numeracy skills, there are some concerns regarding the precision of phonics instruction affecting some pupils’ reading fluency. Additionally, staff must ensure that assessment practices are uniformly applied across all subjects to enhance understanding and retention of knowledge. Overall, the school maintains high expectations and fosters a positive, safe environment where pupils can thrive.

Strengths

• Strong preparation for the future through real-world experiences.
• High expectations of pupils are consistently met.
• Robust early years education with engaging learning activities.
• Development of a well-resourced library that celebrates diversity.
• Effective support and resources for pupils with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent modeling of phonics by some staff hindering reading fluency.
• Assessment practices are not fully embedded in all subjects.

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 Lunsford Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.8% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Lunsford 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 Lunsford Primary School had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.8% 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, 10.9% of pupils at Lunsford Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.5% 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 Lunsford Primary School received £6,459 and spent £6,472 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £41,000 (£204 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 Aylesford · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Lunsford Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lunsford Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Lunsford Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lunsford Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Lunsford Primary School have?

Lunsford Primary School has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lunsford Primary School cover?

Lunsford Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lunsford Primary School?

Lunsford Primary School is at Swallow Road, Larkfield, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 6PY.