St Augustine Academy

St Augustine Academy is performing well overall, with notable strengths in safeguarding, attendance, and the quality of teaching. The school has made significant improvements since the last inspection, particularly in behaviour and curriculum design, creating an inclusive environment where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. However, while pupils are thriving personally, their overall attainment in national examinations, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, remains below national averages, indicating areas that require continued focus and improvement.

Strengths

• Effective safeguarding measures in place
• Positive culture of attendance and behaviour
• Broad and ambitious curriculum well planned for pupil engagement
• Significant improvements in teaching quality since the last inspection
• Strong pastoral support for students
• Inclusive practices for pupils with SEND

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attainment and progress in national examinations below national averages
• Inconsistent use of assessment information affecting some pupils' learning
• Less precision in checking the impact of support for disadvantaged 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 Augustine Academy attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.3% 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, 7.1% of pupils at St Augustine Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 St Augustine Academy had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.6% 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, 20.2% of pupils at St Augustine Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 11 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 St Augustine Academy received £8,481 and spent £7,931 for each of its 736 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,542,000 (£2,095 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Woodard Academies Trust, income was £7,873 and spending £7,857 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

St Augustine Academy is part of Woodard Academies Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• The Sir Robert Woodard Academy Sompting
• The Littlehampton Academy Littlehampton
• St Peter's CofE Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Polam Hall School Darlington
• Kings Priory School North Shields

What is St Augustine Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Augustine Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was St Augustine Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Augustine Academy was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does St Augustine Academy have?

St Augustine Academy has 673 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Augustine Academy cover?

St Augustine Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Augustine Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.4, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Augustine Academy?

St Augustine Academy is at Oakwood Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8AE.