Palace Wood Primary School

Maidstone · ME16 0AB

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 417 pupils, 15.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.6% on SEN support Behaviour 4.9% absence rate Staff 10.4% turnover Financials £6,292 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Palace Wood Primary School

General Information

Address: Ash Grove, Allington, Maidstone, ME16 0AB – View on map
Phone: 01622750084
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Clare Cairns
Age range: 4-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

417 pupils out of 420 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 66
% eligible for free school meals: 15.8%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Maidstone average)
English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10.4% a year (Maidstone 16.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 29% moved to another school, 71% 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.

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: 4.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.6%
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: 8.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 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 2022 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: 69% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 4 percentage points above the Maidstone average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 65% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 65%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 75% · Writing 78% · Maths 80% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 69%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 105
Based on: 64 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 schoolMaidstone averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 4 percentage points above the Maidstone average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 16th of 44 junior and primary schools in the area

=16Hunton Church of England Primary School69%
=16Maidstone, St Michael's Church of England Junior School69%
=16Palace Wood Primary School69%
#19Sandling Primary School67%
#20Leigh Academy Tree Tops66%

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

#1Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School90%
#2Leigh Academy Oaks89%
#3Leigh Academy Molehill85%
=4Allington Primary School83%
=4Maidstone, St John's Church of England Primary School83%
#6Jubilee Primary School81%
#7South Borough Primary School77%
#8The Holy Family Catholic Primary School76%
#9Leigh Academy Bearsted75%
=10Archbishop Courtenay Primary School74%
=10Leigh Academy Langley Park74%
=10Leigh Academy Marden74%
=10Loose Primary School74%
#14Roseacre Junior School73%
#15Valley Invicta Primary School At East Borough70%
=16Hunton Church of England Primary School69%
=16Maidstone, St Michael's Church of England Junior School69%
=16Palace Wood Primary School69%
#19Sandling Primary School67%
#20Leigh Academy Tree Tops66%
#21Brunswick House Primary School65%
=22East Farleigh Primary School63%
=22Greenfields Community Primary School63%
=22Laddingford St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School63%
=22North Borough Junior School63%
=22Senacre Wood Primary School63%
#27Headcorn Primary School62%
#28Madginford Primary School61%
#29Tiger Primary School60%
#30St Margaret's, Collier Street Church of England Voluntary Controlled School59%
#31Kingswood Primary School58%
=32Coxheath Primary School56%
=32Platts Heath Primary School56%
=32Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School56%
#35Sutton Valence Primary School54%
=36Hollingbourne Primary School53%
=36Park Way Primary School53%
#38Barming Primary School48%
=39Boughton Monchelsea Primary School47%
=39Lenham Primary School47%
=39West Borough Primary School47%
#42Harrietsham Church of England Primary School42%
#43Ulcombe Church of England Primary School15%
#44Leeds and Broomfield Church of England Primary School7%

View full Ofsted inspection report

18th of 27 primary schools in Maidstone for Ofsted rating

#16Loose Primary SchoolGood
#17Madginford Primary SchoolGood
#18Palace Wood Primary SchoolGood
#19Park Way Primary SchoolGood
#20Platts Heath Primary 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

#1Allington Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Leigh Academy BearstedOutstanding
#3Archbishop Courtenay Primary SchoolGood
#4Boughton Monchelsea Primary SchoolGood
#5Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
#6Brunswick House Primary SchoolGood
#7Coxheath Primary SchoolGood
#8Harrietsham Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#9Hollingbourne Primary SchoolGood
#10Hunton Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#11Kingswood Primary SchoolGood
#12Laddingford St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
#13Leigh Academy MardenGood
#14Leigh Academy MolehillGood
#15Lenham Primary SchoolGood
#16Loose Primary SchoolGood
#17Madginford Primary SchoolGood
#18Palace Wood Primary SchoolGood
#19Park Way Primary SchoolGood
#20Platts Heath Primary SchoolGood
#21Sandling Primary SchoolGood
#22South Borough Primary SchoolGood
#23St Margaret's, Collier Street Church of England Voluntary Controlled SchoolGood
#24Sutton Valence Primary SchoolGood
#25The Holy Family Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#26Tiger Primary SchoolGood
#27West Borough Primary SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,292 (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.

23rd of 41 primary schools in Maidstone for spending per pupil

#21Lenham Primary School£6,482
#22Jubilee Primary School£6,329
#23Palace Wood Primary School£6,292
#24Park Way Primary School£6,178
#25Barming Primary School£6,177

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

#1Kingswood Primary School£13,892
#2Ulcombe Church of England Primary School£10,947
#3Platts Heath Primary School£10,848
#4Leeds and Broomfield Church of England Primary School£9,865
#5Laddingford St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£8,758
#6Hollingbourne Primary School£7,804
#7Tiger Primary School£7,586
#8Boughton Monchelsea Primary School£7,483
#9Hunton Church of England Primary School£7,467
#10East Farleigh Primary School£7,089
#11The Holy Family Catholic Primary School£7,029
#12St Margaret's, Collier Street Church of England Voluntary Controlled School£6,996
#13Senacre Wood Primary School£6,944
#14Brunswick House Primary School£6,819
#15Leigh Academy Oaks£6,727
#16Greenfields Community Primary School£6,644
#17West Borough Primary School£6,624
#18Archbishop Courtenay Primary School£6,595
#19Sutton Valence Primary School£6,581
#20Headcorn Primary School£6,542
#21Lenham Primary School£6,482
#22Jubilee Primary School£6,329
#23Palace Wood Primary School£6,292
#24Park Way Primary School£6,178
#25Barming Primary School£6,177
#26Maidstone, St John's Church of England Primary School£6,147
#27Leigh Academy Langley Park£6,049
#28Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,047
#29Madginford Primary School£6,043
#30Valley Invicta Primary School At East Borough£6,025
#31Leigh Academy Molehill£5,968
#32Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£5,924
#33South Borough Primary School£5,924
#34Leigh Academy Tree Tops£5,903
#35Coxheath Primary School£5,795
#36Loose Primary School£5,760
#37Harrietsham Church of England Primary School£5,752
#38Sandling Primary School£5,500
#39Allington Primary School£5,472
#40Leigh Academy Bearsted£5,405
#41Leigh Academy Marden£5,311

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

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