St James Church of England Primary Academy

Medway · ME3 0BS

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 176 pupils, 29.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.9% on SEN support Behaviour 5.0% absence rate Staff 10.4% turnover Financials £6,333 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St James Church of England Primary Academy

General Information

Address: High Street, Isle of Grain, Rochester, ME3 0BS – View on map
Phone: 01634270341
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Fay Cordingley
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 12 families put it first for 12 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

176 pupils out of 210 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 50
% eligible for free school meals: 29.6%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Medway average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10.4% a year (Medway 17.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 38% moved to another school, 62% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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: 5.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 8.9%
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: 15.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 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 2023 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: 38% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 23 percentage points below the Medway average (61%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 55% against an expected 59%)
3-year average (expected standard): 55%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 41% · Writing 66% · Maths 55% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 34%
Average test scores: reading 101, maths 99
Based on: 29 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 schoolMedway averageEngland↘ Falling Down 17 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 23 percentage points below the Medway average (61%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 48th of 54 junior and primary schools in the area

#47Wainscott Primary School48%
=48Phoenix Primary School38%
=48St James Church of England Primary Academy38%
=48Warren Wood Primary School38%
#51Luton Primary School36%

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

#1Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy84%
#2The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery)83%
#3Leigh Academy High Halstow81%
#4Thames View Primary School80%
#5St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School79%
=6St Benedict's Catholic Primary School77%
=6Walderslade Primary School77%
#8Lordswood School76%
#9Leigh Academy Hundred of Hoo75%
#10Fairview Community Primary School73%
=11Cuxton Community Junior School72%
=11Hempstead Junior School72%
=13Balfour Junior School71%
=13Halling Primary School71%
=13St Helen's Church of England Primary School, Cliffe71%
=13St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) Primary School71%
=17Elaine Primary School70%
=17Oaklands School70%
=17St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School70%
=20Chattenden Primary School69%
=20The Academy of Woodlands69%
=22All Saints Church of England Primary School68%
=22Brompton-Westbrook Primary School68%
#24St Margaret's Church of England Junior School67%
=25Kingfisher Community Primary School66%
=25New Road Primary School66%
=25Temple Mill Primary School66%
#28Gordons Children's Academy, Junior65%
#29Featherby Junior School64%
=30Hilltop Primary School62%
=30Saxon Way Primary School62%
=32All Faiths Children's Academy61%
=32Leigh Academy Peninsula East61%
#34Delce Academy60%
=35Cedar Children's Academy57%
=35St Mary's Catholic Primary School57%
=37Bligh Primary School (Juniors)56%
=37Maundene School56%
=37Miers Court Primary School56%
=37Riverside Primary School56%
#41Cliffe Woods Primary School53%
=42Barnsole Primary School52%
=42Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough52%
=42Oasis Academy Skinner Street52%
=42Twydall Primary School and Nursery52%
#46Byron Primary School51%
#47Wainscott Primary School48%
=48Phoenix Primary School38%
=48St James Church of England Primary Academy38%
=48Warren Wood Primary School38%
#51Luton Primary School36%
#52New Horizons Children's Academy35%
#53Wayfield Primary School31%
#54Deanwood Primary School28%

View full Ofsted inspection report

33rd of 45 primary schools in Medway for Ofsted rating

#31St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#32St Helen's Church of England Primary School, CliffeGood
#33St James Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#34St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#35St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) 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

#1Leigh Academy High HalstowOutstanding
#2All Faiths Children's AcademyGood
#3All Saints Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#4Barnsole Primary SchoolGood
#5Brompton-Westbrook Primary SchoolGood
#6Cedar Children's AcademyGood
#7Chattenden Primary SchoolGood
#8Deanwood Primary SchoolGood
#9Delce AcademyGood
#10Elaine Primary SchoolGood
#11English Martyrs' Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#12Fairview Community Primary SchoolGood
#13Greenvale Primary SchoolGood
#14Halling Primary SchoolGood
#15Hilltop Primary SchoolGood
#16Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the MarlboroughGood
#17Kingfisher Community Primary SchoolGood
#18Leigh Academy Peninsula EastGood
#19Lordswood SchoolGood
#20Luton Primary SchoolGood
#21Maundene SchoolGood
#22Miers Court Primary SchoolGood
#23Napier Community Primary and Nursery AcademyGood
#24New Horizons Children's AcademyGood
#25New Road Primary SchoolGood
#26Oaklands SchoolGood
#27Oasis Academy Skinner StreetGood
#28Phoenix Primary SchoolGood
#29Riverside Primary SchoolGood
#30Saxon Way Primary SchoolGood
#31St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#32St Helen's Church of England Primary School, CliffeGood
#33St James Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#34St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#35St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) Primary SchoolGood
#36St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#37St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary SchoolGood
#38St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#39Temple Mill Primary SchoolGood
#40Thames View Primary SchoolGood
#41The Academy of WoodlandsGood
#42Twydall Primary School and NurseryGood
#43Wainscott Primary SchoolGood
#44Walderslade Primary SchoolGood
#45Parkwood Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,333 (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.

15th of 52 primary schools in Medway for spending per pupil

#13Oaklands School£6,351
#14Brompton-Westbrook Primary School£6,337
#15St James Church of England Primary Academy£6,333
#16Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School£6,244
#17Temple Mill Primary School£6,219

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

#1Cedar Children's Academy£9,952
#2Greenvale Primary School£7,848
#3Delce Academy£7,657
#4Twydall Primary School and Nursery£7,631
#5Kingfisher Community Primary School£7,594
#6Elaine Primary School£7,410
#7Saxon Way Primary School£7,023
#8New Road Primary School£6,947
#9Warren Wood Primary School£6,811
#10St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,809
#11St Nicholas CEVC Primary School£6,698
#12St Helen's Church of England Primary School, Cliffe£6,578
#13Oaklands School£6,351
#14Brompton-Westbrook Primary School£6,337
#15St James Church of England Primary Academy£6,333
#16Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School£6,244
#17Temple Mill Primary School£6,219
#18The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery)£6,218
#19Lordswood School£6,028
#20Phoenix Primary School£6,015
#21Oasis Academy Skinner Street£5,967
#22Riverside Primary School£5,881
#23Hilltop Primary School£5,828
#24Wayfield Primary School£5,806
#25Byron Primary School£5,785
#26St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School£5,729
#27Deanwood Primary School£5,687
#28Halling Primary School£5,654
#29English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School£5,613
#30St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) Primary School£5,605
#31Barnsole Primary School£5,580
#32Leigh Academy Peninsula East£5,579
#33All Saints Church of England Primary School£5,571
#34Cliffe Woods Primary School£5,507
#35Leigh Academy High Halstow£5,458
#36St Mary's Catholic Primary School£5,408
#37Thames View Primary School£5,353
#38Maundene School£5,301
#39Fairview Community Primary School£5,251
#40Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy£5,232
#41Wainscott Primary School£5,216
#42St Benedict's Catholic Primary School£5,072
#43St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School£5,053
#44Miers Court Primary School£4,972
#45New Horizons Children's Academy£4,726
#46Parkwood Primary School£3,804
#47St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School£3,246
#48Chattenden Primary School£2,894
#49Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough£507
#50Luton Primary School£491
#51Walderslade Primary School£365
#52The Academy of Woodlands£283

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

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