Delce Academy

Delce Academy has shown notable improvement since its previous uninspected status, achieving a 'Good' rating in all key areas of education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. Pupils are increasingly proud of their school and are making significant progress, particularly due to higher expectations and effective handling of behaviour issues. Special provisions for students with special educational needs are effectively integrated, and overall, the school fosters a positive learning environment as it prepares pupils for secondary education.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupil behaviour and engagement in learning.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Well-planned and sequenced reading curriculum.
• Development of a structured programme promoting the school's values.
• Strong leadership driving continuous improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Reading outcomes at the end of Year 6 are not as strong as expected.
• Some curriculum leaders lack clarity on the effectiveness of their subjects.
• Persistent absence rates remain too high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

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 Delce Academy attended 91.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.2% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Delce 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 Delce Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.8% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Delce Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 11 pupils.

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 Delce Academy received £7,803 and spent £8,096 for each of its 327 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £418,000 (-£1,277 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Inspire Partnership Academy Trust, income was £7,816 and spending £7,668 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

Delce Academy is part of Inspire Partnership Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Maundene School Chatham
• Elaine Primary School Rochester
• Chattenden Primary School Rochester
• Rockliffe Manor Primary School London
• Foxfield Primary School London
• Woodhill Primary School London
• Forest Academy Croydon
• Woodside Primary School Croydon
• West Thornton Primary School Croydon

What is Delce Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Delce Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Delce Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Delce Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Delce Academy have?

Delce Academy has 287 pupils on roll.

What age range does Delce Academy cover?

Delce Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Delce Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Delce Academy?

Delce Academy is at The Tideway, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2NJ.