Temple Hill Primary Academy

Temple Hill Primary Academy is a friendly, inclusive and harmonious school where pupils from a wide range of backgrounds get along well and show respect for one another. The school has been judged good in all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has a new headteacher and has expanded in size since the previous inspection. It is part of The Golden Thread Alliance Trust. Leaders have built a sequenced curriculum from early years to Year 6 that reflects the diversity of the school and addresses gaps from missed pandemic learning. Reading and phonics are taught well, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively, and behaviour and attendance are improving. Pupils benefit from a wide range of personal development opportunities, including visits, career inspiration and community activities. The trust and local governors work closely and effectively with the school. The main area for improvement is writing. Although outcomes are rising and the school is focused on developing vocabulary and writing, some pupils still struggle to write as well as they should for their ages. In particular, pupils do not always have enough opportunities to apply their writing skills across the curriculum for different purposes and audiences.

Strengths

• Friendly, inclusive and harmonious school community where pupils respect each other's backgrounds and beliefs
• Pupils have a keen sense of equality and get along well together
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with clear expectations and improving conduct
• Pupils trust adults, feel safe and are happy at school
• Strong phonics teaching with prompt support for pupils who need extra help
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and teachers adapt learning appropriately
• Curriculum is sequenced from early years to Year 6 and reflects the school's diversity
• Early years staff actively develop children's language and vocabulary through books and stories
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of personal development and community opportunities
• Trust and local governors work closely and effectively with the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Opportunities for pupils to write across the curriculum are underdeveloped
• Some pupils still struggle to write as well as they should for their ages
• Pupils do not always have enough opportunities to write for different purposes and audiences across 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 Temple Hill Primary Academy attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.5% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Temple Hill Primary Academy 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 Temple Hill Primary Academy had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Temple Hill Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Temple Hill Primary Academy received £7,277 and spent £7,043 for each of its 867 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £481,000 (£555 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Golden Thread Alliance, income was £6,661 and spending £6,531 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

Temple Hill Primary Academy is part of The Golden Thread Alliance, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• West Hill Primary Academy Dartford
• Fleetdown Primary Academy Dartford
• Oakfield Primary Academy Dartford
• Wrotham Road Primary School Gravesend
• The Riverview Academy Gravesend
• Meopham Community Academy Gravesend
• Culverstone Green Primary School Gravesend

What is Temple Hill Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Temple Hill Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Temple Hill Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Temple Hill Primary Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Temple Hill Primary Academy have?

Temple Hill Primary Academy has 850 pupils on roll.

What age range does Temple Hill Primary Academy cover?

Temple Hill Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Temple Hill Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Temple Hill Primary Academy?

Temple Hill Primary Academy is at St Edmund's Road, Temple Hill, Dartford, Kent, DA1 5ND.