The Abbey School

The Abbey School is a large secondary school in Faversham, part of The Howard Academy Trust, with a specially resourced provision for autistic pupils. Inspectors found a school that has improved significantly and is now calm, inclusive and ambitious, where pupils feel safe and well supported. Safeguarding standards are met, and personal development and post-16 provision are particular strengths, with rich enrichment, strong pastoral care and effective preparation for adulthood. However, academic achievement remains a concern. Published outcomes at the end of key stage 4 are below national averages and have not improved rapidly enough, with disadvantaged pupils attaining well below local and national averages. Attendance and persistent absence, while improving, remain above national averages, and some pupils' learning is affected by poor attendance and inconsistent teaching in a small number of subjects. Leaders have a secure understanding of the school's context and provide strong strategic direction, and teaching and the curriculum are now stronger. The school is well placed to continue improving, but it must embed highly effective teaching across the curriculum so that achievement rises, including in published outcomes, and further reduce persistent absence.

Strengths

• Rich, well-planned personal development programme with extensive enrichment and pastoral support
• Pupils feel safe, respected and supported; behaviour is calm and disruption is rare
• Strong post-16 provision with broad pathways, effective guidance and good preparation for adulthood
• Inclusive culture with effective support for pupils with SEND, including the specially resourced autism provision
• Leaders have a secure understanding of the school and provide clear strategic direction; staff morale is high
• Curriculum and teaching are improving, with clear routines and strong reading, writing and mathematics support
• Attendance and persistent absence are improving through dedicated work with pupils and families
• Safeguarding culture is open and positive, with all legal requirements met
• Pupils benefit from meaningful community links, careers education and leadership opportunities
• Staff use pupil premium funding purposefully to remove barriers for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils with SEND access the full curriculum and wider school life through personalised support

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because published outcomes remain below national averages
• Disadvantaged pupils attain well below local and national averages, with wide disadvantage gaps
• Key stage 4 progress and attainment are below national averages, limiting some pupils' post-16 options
• Improvements in published outcomes are evident but not rapid or sustained over time
• Legacy of less effective teaching in the past continues to affect outcomes
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages
• Poor attendance and inconsistent teaching in a small number of subjects prevent some pupils from learning what they should
• Leaders are still developing staff expertise to consistently improve achievement and attendance 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 The Abbey School attended 86.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 38.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 13.2% of pupils at The Abbey School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 The Abbey School had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 15.4% of pupils at The Abbey School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 52 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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Abbey School received £8,575 and spent £8,512 for each of its 1,118 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,397,000 (£1,250 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Howard Academy Trust, income was £7,563 and spending £7,548 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 Faversham · Kent local authority: places and applications

The Abbey School is part of The Howard Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Miers Court Primary School Rainham
• Deanwood Primary School Gillingham
• Thames View Primary School Gillingham
• The Howard School Gillingham
• Waterfront UTC Chatham
• Temple Mill Primary School Rochester
• Hurstmere School Sidcup

What is The Abbey School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Abbey School is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Abbey School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Abbey School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Abbey School have?

The Abbey School has 1,061 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Abbey School cover?

The Abbey School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The Abbey School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.7, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Abbey School?

The Abbey School is at London Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8RZ.