Valley Park School

Valley Park School is a large 11–18 secondary comprehensive academy within the Valley Invicta Academies Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was graded good in all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. No overall effectiveness grade was given under the current inspection framework. The school had responded swiftly to lower-than-national GCSE results in 2024 by reshaping and strengthening the curriculum, and pupils are now making better progress, with most benefiting from a logically sequenced curriculum. Pupils are happy, proud of their school and behave well in a calm, orderly environment. Pastoral support is strong, reading is a priority, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported to access the same curriculum, and sixth-form students value a wide range of academic and vocational courses. Leadership is a notable strength, with skilled trustees and governors, a unified staff body and effective safeguarding arrangements. The main areas for improvement are around teaching and personal development. Some teachers do not check pupils’ understanding effectively during lessons, so misconceptions can be missed, and teaching is not always adapted to stretch pupils who are ready for more demanding work. The school has improved its PSHE curriculum but recognises that some pupils have gaps in essential knowledge, particularly about democracy and the rule of law.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and demonstrate values of ambition, respect and kindness.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school site, and the school is calm and orderly.
• Strong pastoral support includes mental health support and counselling.
• Pupils have access to a wide range of clubs, trips and performing arts opportunities.
• The curriculum is ambitious, logically sequenced and has been strengthened since the 2024 GCSE results.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge, and pupils try hard and take pride in their work.
• Assessment over time is used well to inform future teaching.
• Sixth-form students benefit from a wide range of academic and vocational courses.
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Reading is a priority, with a dedicated programme and sixth-form reading mentors.
• Careers guidance is high quality, including work experience and information about apprenticeships.
• Leadership is very strong, with skilled trustees and governors and staff who feel supported.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not check pupils’ learning well enough during lessons, so misconceptions and gaps go unnoticed.
• Teaching is not consistently adapted to meet the needs of all pupils, including those ready for more demanding work.
• Some pupils have limited understanding of essential PSHE content, particularly democracy and the rule of law.

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 Valley Park School attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.3% 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, 7.4% of pupils at Valley Park 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 Valley Park School had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.6% 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, 15.4% of pupils at Valley Park School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 Valley Park School received £7,459 and spent £6,840 for each of its 1,597 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,905,000 (£1,819 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Valley Invicta Academies Trust, income was £7,135 and spending £6,722 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 Maidstone · Kent local authority: places and applications

Valley Park School is part of Valley Invicta Academies Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Invicta Grammar School Maidstone
• School of Science and Technology Maidstone Maidstone
• Valley Invicta Primary School At East Borough Maidstone
• Valley Invicta Primary School At Aylesford Aylesford
• Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes Snodland
• Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill West Malling
• Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase West Malling
• The Lenham School Maidstone

What is Valley Park School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Valley Park School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Valley Park School last inspected by Ofsted?

Valley Park School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Valley Park School have?

Valley Park School has 1,555 pupils on roll.

What age range does Valley Park School cover?

Valley Park School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Valley Park School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.8, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Valley Park School?

Valley Park School is at Huntsman Lane, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 5DT.