Upton Junior School

Upton Junior School is a warm, caring school where pupils achieve very well and are extensively prepared for their next steps. Inspectors found exceptional provision across the curriculum, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Pupils are confident, articulate learners who love reading, work hard in lessons, and benefit from strong relationships with staff. The school’s ambitious curriculum builds securely on prior learning, and expert teaching helps pupils, including those with SEND, to learn deeply and catch up quickly where gaps are identified. Pupils’ well-being is a clear priority, with calm spaces, pastoral support and therapeutic help available, and pupils’ conduct is excellent. Attendance is strong and improving, personal development is broadened through clubs, trips and visits, and governance and trust support are effective. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection; it is an academy converter within the Viking Academy Trust, and under the current framework it does not receive an overall effectiveness grade. No areas of concern were identified in the report.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND
• Expert teachers explain learning exceptionally well and check understanding rigorously
• Pupils rapidly close gaps in learning because staff identify needs quickly
• Pupils love reading and leave as confident, fluent readers
• Phonics support is expert and books are well matched to pupils’ sounds and letters
• Pupils become highly skilled communicators and write purposefully across subjects
• Pupils apply mathematical concepts skilfully to solve complex problems
• Excellent behaviour and attitudes create purposeful, learning-focused classrooms
• Pupils’ personal development is strong through clubs, trips and career-related experiences
• Pastoral support and mental health provision help pupils regulate emotions and feel safe
• Attendance is frequent and improving over time
• Governors and trustees provide high levels of challenge and support
• Staff are proud to work at the school and feel well trained and cared for
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

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 Upton Junior School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Upton Junior 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 Upton Junior School had 20.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.9% 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, 10.7% of pupils at Upton Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Upton Junior School received £5,973 and spent £5,759 for each of its 516 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,139,000 (£2,207 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Viking Academy Trust, income was £6,168 and spending £6,025 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 Broadstairs · Kent local authority: places and applications

Upton Junior School is part of Viking Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Ramsgate Arts Primary School Ramsgate
• Chilton Primary School Ramsgate

What is Upton Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Upton Junior School is Outstanding, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Upton Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Upton Junior School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Upton Junior School have?

Upton Junior School has 515 pupils on roll.

What age range does Upton Junior School cover?

Upton Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Upton Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Upton Junior School?

Upton Junior School is at Upton Junior School, Edge End Road, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 2AH.