School Chooser

Elaine Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy270 pupilsNurseryRochesterMedway
School Chooser Score
45
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 26 to 65
Out of 100. Better than 73% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, September 2022
Reached the expected level at 1170%England 63%
Attendance92.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families54%Far more than most schools
Places80 spare270 pupils, 350 places
Pupils per teacher21.2School workforce census

Elaine Primary School is a sponsored academy in Rochester for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 270 pupils and room for 350. About 54 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 45 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 73% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Elaine Avenue, Rochester, ME2 2YN01634 294817elaine.medway.sch.ukMs Rupinder Bansil headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 21 September 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

47 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1170%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level13%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 20%20%20172018: 35%35%20182019: 65%65%20192023: 69%69%20232024: 65%65%20242025: 70%70%2025
Since 2017: +50%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024202320192018†2017†MedwayEngland
Pupils tested474955485456
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths70%65%69%65%35%20%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths13%4%11%13%2%0%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0105.0103.0102.0103.098.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0103.0106.0105.0101.096.0103.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0102.0104.0105.0101.098.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard77%78%73%73%61%36%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard74%71%80%79%57%34%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)74%69%75%85%48%48%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.2-1.3-0.5-4.3
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.2+0.4-1.0-4.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged63%59%66%48%21%9%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged78%90%74%83%52%35%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Elaine Primary Academy, the school this one replaced in May 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
63%78%
Gap 15 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
70%71%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
83%70%
Gap 13 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
4%13%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places271 pupils for 350 places, 2024/25
77% full

79 places were empty (23% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 13% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Medway council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll270Census January 2026
Places35077% full
Pupils from low-income families52%54% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English17%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%56 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan9%23 pupils with a plan
Average class size23.611 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)53%£207,700 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls151 / 119
White British pupils66%

Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 10 pupils, for social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Medway with social, emotional and mental health provision.

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 24.2 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (33), emotional and mental health (22), Other difficulty or disability (12), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Specific learning difficulty (2), Vision impairment (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll270282298301324337
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals52%53%52%56%57%54%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language17%14%12%8%7%7%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support30%22%23%22%21%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%9%11%12%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school26.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission4.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.3%6.7%8.3%8.4%5.6%5.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.0%2.2%2.5%3.2%2.2%1.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence4.4%4.5%5.8%5.2%3.3%4.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence26.8%24.4%27.4%31.4%15.7%11.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.14.00.75.30.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers12.6full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher21.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers85%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,773
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.92024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,396England £7,128. Total £2.1m
Income per pupil£7,986England £7,587. Total £2.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,604England £3,405
Money in reserve0%Very little put by: £4,372, £16 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£165kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,396spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m40212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate119 per 1,000 people31% higher than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Medway
Nearest bus stop160 mElaine Avenue, 13 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Cedar Children's AcademyAcademy520 m627Not inspected29Compare
St Nicholas CEVC Primary SchoolChurch of England890 m156No overall grade 202511Compare
Gordons Children's Academy, JuniorAcademy950 m263Good 202245Compare
Gordons Children's Academy, InfantAcademy950 m135Good 202232Compare
Bligh Primary School (Juniors)Academy0.6 miles343Good 202325Compare
Bligh Primary School (Infants)Academy0.6 miles303No overall grade 202590Compare
All Faiths Children's AcademyAcademy0.8 miles225Good 202026Compare
English Martyrs' Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles202Good 202372Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Elaine Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats73%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 45 is 19 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 25 · highest 86100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 45 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 45% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 26 to 65. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.03
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 47 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 4.0 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.01
DfE progress measure; 47 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.17
2024/25; 276 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.13
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 47 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Elaine Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Elaine Primary School scores 45 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 73% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 26 to 65, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Elaine Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Elaine Primary School good at its last full inspection on 21 September 2022.

How good are Elaine Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 70% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 13% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Elaine Primary School have?

270 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 350 places, so it is 77% full.

Is Elaine Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 79 places were empty in 2024/25 (23% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Elaine Primary School?

Pupils were in school 92.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Elaine Primary School?

The average class had 23.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Elaine Primary School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It has sen unit for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Elaine Avenue, Rochester, ME2 2YN
Telephone
01634 294817
Website
www.elaine.medway.sch.uk
Headteacher
Ms Rupinder Bansil
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
Inspire Partnership Academy Trust (10 schools)
Local authority
Medway
Ward
Strood West
Constituency
Rochester and Strood
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 May 2018 (fresh start)
URN
145926 · LAESTAB 8872021 · UKPRN 10067319
Formerly
Elaine Primary Academy

Where these figures come from