Joydens Wood Infant School

Joydens Wood Infant School continues to demonstrate good overall performance. Pupils express enjoyment in learning, supported by strong teacher-student relationships which foster a sense of safety and well-being. The school's ambitious curriculum is tailored to build knowledge progressively, and teachers effectively manage classroom dynamics, contributing to positive pupil behavior. Special educational needs and/or disabilities are well addressed, with adequate support provided to ensure that all pupils achieve effectively.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and feel safe at school.
• Teachers and pupils have warm relationships, contributing to a supportive environment.
• The curriculum is ambitious and sequenced well to build knowledge.
• Pupils' emotional development is effectively prioritized.
• Reading is a strong focus, with effective phonics instruction in place.
• The school encourages a sense of responsibility and community involvement.
• Wider personal development is well supported, emphasizing inclusivity and safety.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not consistently have secure subject and pedagogical knowledge, affecting systematic knowledge building.

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 Joydens Wood Infant School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.9% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Joydens Wood Infant 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 Joydens Wood Infant School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 13.2% of pupils at Joydens Wood Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Joydens Wood Infant School received £7,102 and spent £7,259 for each of its 212 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £139,000 (£656 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Nexus Education Schools Trust, income was £8,837 and spending £8,693 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 Dartford · Kent local authority: places and applications

Joydens Wood Infant School is part of Nexus Education Schools Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Joydens Wood Junior School Dartford
• Manor Oak Primary School Orpington
• Perry Hall Primary School Orpington
• Marjorie McClure School Chislehurst
• Farnborough Primary School Orpington
• Bickley Primary School Bromley
• Highfield Infants' School Bromley
• Highfield Junior School Bromley
• Pickhurst Infant Academy West Wickham
• Worsley Bridge Primary School Beckenham

What is Joydens Wood Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Joydens Wood Infant School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Joydens Wood Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Joydens Wood Infant School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Joydens Wood Infant School have?

Joydens Wood Infant School has 190 pupils on roll.

What age range does Joydens Wood Infant School cover?

Joydens Wood Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Joydens Wood Infant School?

Joydens Wood Infant School is at Park Way, Bexley, Kent, DA5 2JD.