Gordons Children's Academy, Junior

The Gordon Children’s Academy, Junior has demonstrated good overall effectiveness during the inspection, maintaining its prior rating. The school fosters a strong culture focusing on high expectations, where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to develop both academically and personally. Leaders prioritize the quality of education, creating a supportive environment that enhances pupils' learning experiences, with a focus on community involvement and personal development. However, while notable progress has been made in curriculum development, some inconsistencies in subject teaching and assessment practices have been identified, necessitating further improvement to meet the ambitious learning goals for all students.

Strengths

• Pupils embody and strive to meet the school's high expectations.
• Strong focus on personal development and community engagement.
• Effective measures in place for safeguarding and well-being.
• Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to enhance teaching practices.
• Enrichment activities provide diverse learning opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in the teaching of the curriculum across subjects.
• Some assessments do not accurately identify knowledge gaps.
• Curriculum outlines are not fully established for all subjects.

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 Gordons Children's Academy, Junior attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.9% 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 Gordons Children's Academy, Junior 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 Gordons Children's Academy, Junior had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.2% 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, 19.4% of pupils at Gordons Children's Academy, Junior were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 2019–20 Gordons Children's Academy, Junior received £6,585 and spent £6,128 for each of its 356 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £211,000 (£593 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, income was £6,621 and spending £6,461 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 Rochester · Medway local authority: places and applications

Gordons Children's Academy, Junior is part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Gordons Children's Academy, Infant Rochester
• All Faiths Children's Academy Rochester
• Cedar Children's Academy Rochester
• Maritime Academy Rochester
• The Rochester Grammar School Rochester
• Holcombe Grammar School Chatham
• New Horizons Children's Academy Chatham
• The Victory Academy Chatham
• Colchester Royal Grammar School Colchester
• Goodwin Academy Deal

What is Gordons Children's Academy, Junior's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gordons Children's Academy, Junior is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was Gordons Children's Academy, Junior last inspected by Ofsted?

Gordons Children's Academy, Junior was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does Gordons Children's Academy, Junior have?

Gordons Children's Academy, Junior has 263 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gordons Children's Academy, Junior cover?

Gordons Children's Academy, Junior for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Gordons Children's Academy, Junior's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gordons Children's Academy, Junior?

Gordons Children's Academy, Junior is at Gordon Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 3HQ.