Thistle Hill Academy

Swale · ME12 3UD

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 349 pupils, 49.9% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 33% on SEN support Behaviour 7.0% absence rate Staff 27.2% turnover Financials £7,196 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Thistle Hill Academy

General Information

Address: Aspen Drive, Minster-on-Sea, Sheerness, ME12 3UD – View on map
Phone: 01795899119
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Rebecca Handebeaux
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 38 families put it first for 38 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 38 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

349 pupils out of 420 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 174
% eligible for free school meals: 49.9%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Swale average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 27.2% a year (Swale 18.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
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.

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: 7.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.5%
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

Resourced provision for Autism 14 places · 10 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 33.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 43 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 35 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 19 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 18 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 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

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.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 49% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points below the Swale average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 58% against an expected 54%)
3-year average (expected standard): 58%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 59% · Writing 76% · Maths 59% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 42%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 100
Based on: 59 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 schoolSwale averageEngland↘ Falling Down 7 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points below the Swale average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: 35th of 46 junior and primary schools in the area

#33Iwade School52%
#34Rose Street Primary School51%
#35Thistle Hill Academy49%
#36St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School45%
=37Grove Park Primary School43%

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

#1Borden Church of England Primary School94%
#2Minster in Sheppey Primary School89%
#3Sheldwich Primary School88%
#4Queenborough School and Nursery85%
#5Holywell Primary School84%
#6Ethelbert Road Primary School79%
=7Bobbing Village School75%
=7Graveney Primary School75%
#9Boughton-under-Blean and Dunkirk Primary School74%
=10Lansdowne Primary School73%
=10Newington Church of England Primary School73%
=12Halfway Houses Primary School72%
=12Rodmersham School72%
#14Sunny Bank Primary School71%
=15Davington Primary School70%
=15Hernhill Church of England Primary School70%
=17Ospringe Church of England Primary School69%
=17Tunstall Church of England (Aided) Primary School69%
=19Canterbury Road Primary School67%
=19South Avenue Primary School67%
=19St Peter's Catholic Primary School67%
=19Westlands Primary School67%
#23West Minster Primary School66%
#24Richmond Primary School63%
#25St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School60%
#26Eastling Primary School59%
#27Kemsley Primary Academy57%
#28Bredgar Church of England Primary School56%
#29Minterne Junior School55%
#30Regis Manor Primary School54%
=31Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School53%
=31Milton Court Primary Academy53%
#33Iwade School52%
#34Rose Street Primary School51%
#35Thistle Hill Academy49%
#36St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School45%
=37Grove Park Primary School43%
=37St Edward's Catholic Primary School43%
#39Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery40%
#40Bysing Wood Primary School39%
=41Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School38%
=41Selling Church of England Primary School38%
#43Luddenham School37%
#44Lower Halstow Primary School33%
#45Eastchurch Church of England Primary School25%
#46St. Clement's CofE Primary School15%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,196 (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 46 primary schools in Swale for spending per pupil

#13Sunny Bank Primary School£7,336
#14Ospringe Church of England Primary School£7,298
#15Thistle Hill Academy£7,196
#16Rodmersham School£7,145
#17St. Clement's CofE Primary School£7,054

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

#1Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School£11,236
#2Lynsted and Norton Primary School£9,087
#3Selling Church of England Primary School£8,696
#4Richmond Primary School£8,352
#5West Minster Primary School£8,185
#6Bysing Wood Primary School£8,184
#7Eastling Primary School£8,141
#8Rose Street Primary School£7,924
#9Eastchurch Church of England Primary School£7,810
#10Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School£7,807
#11Graveney Primary School£7,686
#12Newington Church of England Primary School£7,556
#13Sunny Bank Primary School£7,336
#14Ospringe Church of England Primary School£7,298
#15Thistle Hill Academy£7,196
#16Rodmersham School£7,145
#17St. Clement's CofE Primary School£7,054
#18Canterbury Road Primary School£6,984
#19St Edward's Catholic Primary School£6,951
#20Milton Court Primary Academy£6,924
#21Queenborough School and Nursery£6,868
#22Borden Church of England Primary School£6,847
#23Bredgar Church of England Primary School£6,843
#24St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School£6,773
#25South Avenue Primary School£6,649
#26Lower Halstow Primary School£6,622
#27Boughton-under-Blean and Dunkirk Primary School£6,459
#28Luddenham School£6,446
#29Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery£6,425
#30Davington Primary School£6,404
#31Hernhill Church of England Primary School£6,395
#32Grove Park Primary School£6,375
#33Westlands Primary School£6,277
#34Lansdowne Primary School£6,251
#35Kemsley Primary Academy£6,050
#36Holywell Primary School£6,024
#37Tunstall Church of England (Aided) Primary School£6,005
#38Regis Manor Primary School£5,954
#39St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School£5,941
#40Sheldwich Primary School£5,924
#41Ethelbert Road Primary School£5,729
#42Iwade School£5,704
#43Bobbing Village School£5,653
#44Minster in Sheppey Primary School£5,481
#45Halfway Houses Primary School£5,337
#46St Peter's Catholic Primary School£5,105

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

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