Herne Bay Junior School

Canterbury · CT6 5DA

General information Junior School · 7-11 years Who goes here 371 pupils, 45.3% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.6% on SEN support Behaviour 7.2% absence rate Staff 9% turnover Financials £7,152 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Herne Bay Junior School

General Information

Address: Kings Road, Herne Bay, CT6 5DA – View on map
Phone: 01227374608
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Melody Wilkinson
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

371 pupils out of 500 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 168
% eligible for free school meals: 45.3%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (similar to the Canterbury average)
English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9% a year (Canterbury 13.9%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 57% moved to another school, 43% 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 Kent: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 21 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 32 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (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 Kent (the council area this school is in), 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: 7.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.7%
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: 15.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 19 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Vision impairment: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

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

Good 2020 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 34% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 25 percentage points below the Canterbury average (59%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 40% against an expected 58%)
3-year average (expected standard): 40%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 56% · Writing 49% · Maths 40% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 44%
Average test scores: reading 101, maths 98
Based on: 110 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolCanterbury averageEngland↘ Falling Down 9 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 25 percentage points below the Canterbury average (59%).

Year 6 SATs: 28th of 29 junior and primary schools in the area

=25St Stephen's Junior School44%
#27St Johns Church of England Primary School38%
#28Herne Bay Junior School34%
#29Parkside Community Foundation Primary School23%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

=1Herne Church of England Junior School81%
=1Thornden Wood Primary School81%
=3Blean Primary School80%
=3St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Canterbury80%
#5Sturry Church of England Primary School78%
#6Adisham Church of England Primary School75%
#7Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England Primary School74%
#8Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School73%
=9Hoath Primary School71%
=9Water Meadows Primary School71%
=11St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable68%
=11Whitstable Junior School68%
#13Petham Primary School67%
#14Wincheap Foundation Primary School66%
=15Chartham Primary School63%
=15St Peter's Methodist Primary School63%
#17Reculver Church of England Primary School59%
=18Barham Church of England Primary School58%
=18Joy Lane Primary Foundation School58%
#20Swalecliffe Community Primary School52%
#21The Canterbury Primary School51%
#22Hampton Primary School50%
=23Chislet Church of England Primary School47%
=23Littlebourne Church of England Primary School47%
=25Pilgrims' Way Primary School44%
=25St Stephen's Junior School44%
#27St Johns Church of England Primary School38%
#28Herne Bay Junior School34%
#29Parkside Community Foundation Primary School23%

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 5 junior schools in Canterbury for Ofsted rating

#1Herne Church of England Junior SchoolOutstanding
#2Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior SchoolOutstanding
#3Herne Bay Junior SchoolGood
#4St Stephen's Junior SchoolGood
#5Whitstable Junior SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Herne Church of England Junior SchoolOutstanding
#2Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior SchoolOutstanding
#3Herne Bay Junior SchoolGood
#4St Stephen's Junior SchoolGood
#5Whitstable Junior SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,152 (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.

2nd of 5 junior schools in Canterbury for spending per pupil

#1Whitstable Junior School£7,641
#2Herne Bay Junior School£7,152
#3St Stephen's Junior School£6,948
#4Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School£6,447

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

#1Whitstable Junior School£7,641
#2Herne Bay Junior School£7,152
#3St Stephen's Junior School£6,948
#4Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School£6,447
#5Herne Church of England Junior School£5,672

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

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