Rivermead School
Rivermead School is a special academy in Gillingham for boys and girls aged 4 to 16. It has 163 pupils. About 56 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Forge Lane, Gillingham, ME7 1UG01634 338348rivermead.org.ukMiss Shelley Campbell headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 21 February 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
23 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Medway | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 20 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 13.3 | 13.8 | 16.0 | 17.0 | 14.6 | 17.8 | 46.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.90 | -0.84 | -0.44 | -1.22 | -1.01 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 4% | 0% | 0% | 4% | 0% | 10% | 45% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 9% | 5% | 0% | 17% | 5% | 10% | 64% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 1.03 | 1.05 | 1.26 | 0.99 | 0.60 | 0.95 | 4.22 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 52% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 14.7 | 13.8 | 14.8 | 15.0 | – | 14.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 11.7 | 13.8 | 17.1 | 19.1 | – | 19.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 12.3 | 15.5 | 17.2 | 12.5 | 10.6 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 7 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: English Literature (0% here, 58% across England), English Language (11% here, 54% across England), Mathematics (17% here, 53% across England), Combined Science (0% here, 36% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 18 | 0% | 17% | 17% | 53% | – |
| English Language | 18 | 0% | 11% | 17% | 54% | – |
| Combined Science | 18 | 0% | 0% | 17% | 36% | – |
| English Literature | 17 | 0% | 0% | 6% | 58% | – |
| Art and Design | 14 | 0% | 7% | 21% | 58% | – |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 14 | 0% | 0% | 7% | 52% | – |
| Business | 7 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 51% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
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. Every gap at this school is 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 GCSE, 2025
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.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication.
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 autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (131), emotional and mental health (13), language and communications needs (11), Specific learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Other difficulty or disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 163 | 139 | 181 | 181 | 176 | 189 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 53% | 55% | 44% | 40% | 36% | 25% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 1% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 1% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 2% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 99% | 99% | 100% | 99% | 98% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 14.5% | 13.0% | 14.4% | 14.0% | 19.8% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 11.8% | 9.4% | 8.8% | 8.6% | 16.0% | 5.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.7% | 3.6% | 5.6% | 5.4% | 3.8% | 1.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 34.3% | 33.8% | 39.4% | 36.3% | 63.6% | 26.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 7.9 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 25 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 92% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 92% | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saxon Way Primary School | Academy | 210 m | 396 | Not inspected | 21 | Compare |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 530 m | 450 | Good 2023 | 46 | Compare |
| Burnt Oak Primary School | Academy | 640 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Waterfront UTC | University technical college | 920 m | 381 | Good 2023 | 11 | Compare |
| Oasis Academy Skinner Street | Academy | 990 m | 372 | Good 2021 | 20 | Compare |
| Barnsole Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 609 | Good 2024 | 8 | Compare |
| MidKent College | Further education | 0.8 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 597 | Good 2019 | 86 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Rivermead School a good school?
Rivermead School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2024.
What is Rivermead School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Rivermead School good at its last full inspection on 21 February 2024.
How good are Rivermead School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 4% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 13.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Rivermead School have?
163 pupils aged 4 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026.
What is attendance like at Rivermead School?
Pupils were in school 85.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 34% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Rivermead School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Rivermead School have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Forge Lane, Gillingham, ME7 1UG
- Telephone
- 01634 338348
- Website
- www.rivermead.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Miss Shelley Campbell
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 4-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Rivermead Inclusive Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- Medway
- Ward
- Gillingham North
- Constituency
- Gillingham and Rainham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 2016 (academy converter)
- URN
- 142555 · LAESTAB 8877016 · UKPRN 10055167
- Formerly
- Rivermead School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.