Westlands School

Westlands School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school built on an inclusive and ambitious ethos. Pupils appreciate the school’s focus on developing positive attitudes to learning through its RADAR Values, and they benefit from a comprehensive range of academic and vocational courses that prepare them for future opportunities. The support provided to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is effective, and there’s a strong emphasis on reading across the curriculum. However, the school recognizes some areas for improvement, particularly regarding the attendance of disadvantaged pupils, who miss valuable learning as a result of regular absences.

Strengths

• Inclusive and ambitious school ethos
• Strong emphasis on positive attitudes to learning
• Wide range of extra-curricular experiences
• Comprehensive and ambitious curriculum with good subject knowledge connections
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding, allowing misconceptions to persist
• Regular absence of disadvantaged pupils affects their achievement

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 Westlands School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 6.6% of pupils at Westlands School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Westlands School had 16.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 18.7% of pupils at Westlands School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 18 pupils.

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Westlands School received £8,108 and spent £7,814 for each of its 1,751 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £713,000 (£407 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Swale Academies Trust, income was £8,268 and spending £8,248 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Westlands School is part of Swale Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Westlands Primary School Sittingbourne
• Regis Manor Primary School Sittingbourne
• The Sittingbourne School Sittingbourne
• South Borough Primary School Maidstone
• The Holmesdale School Snodland
• The Whitstable School Whitstable
• Meopham School Gravesend
• Beaver Green Primary School Ashford
• The North School Ashford
• Istead Rise Primary School Gravesend

What is Westlands School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Westlands School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Westlands School last inspected by Ofsted?

Westlands School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Westlands School have?

Westlands School has 1,690 pupils on roll.

What age range does Westlands School cover?

Westlands School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Westlands School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.3, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Westlands School?

Westlands School is at Westlands Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1PF.