Istead Rise Primary School

Istead Rise Primary School continues to demonstrate strong performance, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2018. The vibrant learning environment fosters high expectations among students, who eagerly engage with their studies. The school excels in inclusivity, providing effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring they are fully integrated into classroom activities and benefit from various opportunities.

Strengths

• Pupils display a love for learning and take pride in their school.
• Highly effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Curriculum designed to be academically ambitious and exciting.
• Strong emphasis on early reading and vocabulary development.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and demonstrate sustained focus.
• High-quality training for staff directly improves pupils' experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding may lead to unaddressed misconceptions.

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 Istead Rise Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.4% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Istead Rise 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 Istead Rise Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Istead Rise Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.5% 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 2024–25 Istead Rise Primary School received £6,145 and spent £7,392 for each of its 208 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £85,000 (£407 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Swale Academies Trust, income was £8,268 and spending £8,248 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 Gravesend · Kent local authority: places and applications

Istead Rise Primary School is part of Swale Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Meopham School Gravesend
• The Holmesdale School Snodland
• South Borough Primary School Maidstone
• Westlands School Sittingbourne
• Westlands Primary School Sittingbourne
• Regis Manor Primary School Sittingbourne
• James Dixon Primary School London
• The Sittingbourne School Sittingbourne
• Beaver Green Primary School Ashford
• The North School Ashford

What is Istead Rise Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Istead Rise Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was Istead Rise Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Istead Rise Primary School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does Istead Rise Primary School have?

Istead Rise Primary School has 211 pupils on roll.

What age range does Istead Rise Primary School cover?

Istead Rise Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Istead Rise Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Istead Rise Primary School?

Istead Rise Primary School is at Downs Road, Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, DA13 9HG.