Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School is a small, welcoming primary school where care and kindness are central. Following its previous Requires improvement grade, the school is now judged Good in all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are happy, proud of their school and benefit from strong relationships with staff, high expectations and a calm, purposeful learning environment. The school has a broad, sequenced curriculum, effective support for pupils with SEND, a well-embedded approach to reading, and a personal development offer underpinned by its values. Attendance has improved significantly, and staff well-being and trust support are strengths.

Strengths

• Care and kindness are at the heart of a small, welcoming school.
• Strong relationships between staff, pupils and families mean individual needs are well understood.
• Pupils are happy, proud of their school and have positive attitudes to learning.
• High expectations for learning and behaviour are applied consistently.
• Lessons are calm and purposeful, with careful adaptations for pupils with SEND and complex behaviour needs.
• The curriculum is broad, sequenced, well resourced and engaging for all pupils.
• Teachers receive a wide variety of training, enhanced by trust support.
• Pupils remember what they are taught and make links between current and prior learning.
• There is early identification and tailored support for pupils with SEND.
• The approach to reading is embedded, with a sharp focus from the start of school and expert catch-up support.
• Pupils enjoy reading and read books that match the sounds they are learning.
• Personal development is underpinned by the school’s values of stewardship, inquiry, resilience and compassion.
• Trips, wider experiences and clubs are thoughtfully planned and accessible to all pupils.
• Pupil leadership opportunities are meaningful, including school council community work.
• Attendance has improved significantly this year.
• Staff workload and well-being are a high priority for leaders.
• Trustees and governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teachers do not consistently provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their thinking and consider the most complex aspects of the subject.
• There are occasional missed opportunities in the early years to strengthen learning through high-quality adult interactions.
• A small proportion of the most disadvantaged pupils are still not attending frequently enough.

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 Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.9% 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, 5.5% of pupils at Milstead and Frinsted Church of England 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 Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School had 12.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 14.5% of pupils at Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.7% 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 2024–25 Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School received £12,983 and spent £11,888 for each of its 55 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £149,000 (£2,714 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Our Community Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,845 and spending £7,701 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

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School is part of Our Community Multi Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Bredgar Church of England Primary School Sittingbourne
• The Oaks Infant School Sittingbourne
• Minterne Junior School Sittingbourne
• Lynsted and Norton Primary School Sittingbourne
• Borden Church of England Primary School Sittingbourne
• Selling Church of England Primary School Faversham
• Petham Primary School Canterbury
• Dymchurch Primary School Romney Marsh
• Lydd Primary School Romney Marsh

What is Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School have?

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School has 55 pupils on roll.

What age range does Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School cover?

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School?

Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School is at School Lane, Milstead, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 0SJ.