Balfour Infant School

Medway · ME1 2QT

General information Infant School · 5-7 years Who goes here 244 pupils, 21.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.5% on SEN support Behaviour 4.9% absence rate Staff 9.3% turnover Financials £6,342 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Balfour Infant School

General Information

Address: Pattens Lane, Rochester, ME1 2QT – View on map
Phone: 01634338280
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Joseph Pomeroy
Age range: 5-7 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 59 families put it first for 66 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 66 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

244 pupils out of 270 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 52
% eligible for free school meals: 21.3%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Medway average)
English as an additional language: 37% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.3% a year (Medway 17.4%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 64% moved to another school, 36% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Medway: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Medway, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 23 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,342 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 6 infant schools in Medway for spending per pupil

#1St Peter's Infant School£9,848
#2Crest Infant School£9,499
#3Balfour Infant School£6,342
#4St John's Church of England Infant School£6,275
#5St Margaret's Infant School£5,728

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1St Peter's Infant School£9,848
#2Crest Infant School£9,499
#3Balfour Infant School£6,342
#4St John's Church of England Infant School£6,275
#5St Margaret's Infant School£5,728
#6Cuxton Community Infant School£5,613

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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