School Chooser

St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyCatholic446 pupilsNurseryChathamMedway
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, November 2019
Reached the expected level at 1178%England 63%
Attendance95.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families29%A bit more than most schools
PlacesFull446 pupils, 442 places
Pupils per teacher25.3School workforce census

St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School is a converter academy in Chatham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 446 pupils, 4 more than it has places for. About 29 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2019.

Hills Terrace, Chatham, ME4 6PX01634 832578st-michaels.medway.sch.ukMrs Nicola Collins headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 6 November 2019 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.

This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

60 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of St Michael's RC Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1178%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level17%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 62%62%20172018: 80%80%20182019: 82%82%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 77%77%20242025: 78%78%2025
Since 2017: +16%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†2017†MedwayEngland
Pupils tested606162575460
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths78%77%68%82%80%62%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths17%13%18%12%31%12%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0106.0106.0107.0108.0102.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0105.0106.0107.0108.0103.0103.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0108.0108.0107.0109.0106.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard80%84%76%86%83%65%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard83%79%82%88%83%73%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)85%85%79%86%81%82%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.2+2.8+4.5+0.6
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.8+2.5+6.0+1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged56%68%48%70%74%64%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged88%82%78%91%83%61%

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 St Michael's RC Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2025. 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. None of the gaps 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 the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
56%88%
Gap 32 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
69%89%
Gap 20 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
87%78%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%17%
Gap 17 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. As a Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Full422 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
101% full

The school is full, with 2 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place.

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.

Pupils on roll446Census January 2026
Places442101% full
Pupils from low-income families29%29% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English40%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%89 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%16 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.715 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils7%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)31%£199,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls231 / 215
White British pupils28%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.1 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (54), Specific learning difficulty (18), emotional and mental health (10), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (8), Other difficulty or disability (5), Vision impairment (3).

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school12.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25†2023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.0%4.9%4.2%4.9%3.3%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.7%3.8%3.4%4.1%2.8%3.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.0%0.9%0.8%0.5%0.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence12.4%13.3%8.8%10.5%10.6%8.0%12.8%

† These attendance figures are for St Michael's RC Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers17.6full-time equivalent, 18 people
Pupils per teacher25.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants15.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,725
Vacancies0

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.

Money in reserve6%Not much put by: £83k, £186 per pupil
Money in against money out-£48kit spent more than it took in this year

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 m1,34712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate347 per 1,000 people281% higher than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Medway
Nearest bus stop80 mWestmount Avenue, 14 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
St John's Church of England Infant SchoolAcademy130 m77Good 20245Compare
Phoenix Primary SchoolAcademy670 m396Good 20234Compare
New Road Primary SchoolCouncil670 m352Good 202336Compare
Balfour Junior SchoolAcademy690 m480Good 202460Compare
All Saints Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy910 m343Good 202437Compare
Greenvale Primary SchoolCouncil910 m192Good 202313Compare
Balfour Infant SchoolCouncil0.6 miles244No overall grade 202454Compare
Brompton-Westbrook Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles460Good 202460Compare

Questions parents ask

Is St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School a good school?

St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in November 2019.

What is St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School good at its last full inspection on 6 November 2019. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 78% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 17% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School have?

446 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 442 places, so it is 101% full.

Is St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 2 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School?

Pupils were in school 95.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School?

The average class had 29.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 7% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Hills Terrace, Chatham, ME4 6PX
Telephone
01634 832578
Website
www.st-michaels.medway.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Nicola Collins
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Catholic, Archdiocese of Southwark
Multi-academy trust
Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership (33 schools)
Local authority
Medway
Ward
Fort Pitt
Constituency
Chatham and Aylesford
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2025 (academy converter)
URN
151494 · LAESTAB 8873712 · UKPRN 10096973
Formerly
St Michael's RC Primary School

Where these figures come from