Gillingham Primary School, Gillingham

Ofsted's report card from its 6 January 2026 inspection grades Gillingham Primary School on 7 areas: 3 expected standard and 4 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Attendance is a high priority."

Early years - Expected standard. "In the early years, staff establish clear routines for children that foster independence from the start."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education teaches pupils to appreciate individual differences."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Over time, outcomes show that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 is below average."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Until recently, the curriculum and teaching have not always enabled pupils to make progress through the school as they should."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "For some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those who are disadvantaged, barriers to learning are not always fully understood."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Areas for improvement have taken time for leaders and governors to explore and begin to address."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that staff understand all the specific barriers that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including disadvantaged children, face so they can fully support these pupils to be successful"; "Leaders should ensure that the checks that teachers make on pupils' learning are embedded across the school so that all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged and those with SEND, achieve well across all subjects of the curriculum"; "Leaders should ensure that pupils routinely develop the knowledge and skills they need in writing, with a particular focus on fluent handwriting, sentence structure and letter formation, so that pupils are ready for the next stage of their education"; "Leaders at all levels should strengthen their oversight of the impact of school improvement actions taken and ensure that all pupils receive the support they need to achieve as highly as possible across the curriculum".

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils at Gillingham Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 53% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 71% in Dorset and 77% and 75% across England.

Results rose from 57% in reading and 51% in maths in 2024.

With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.

For September 2026 entry, 25 families put Gillingham Primary School as their first choice and 51 named it as one of their preferences, for 25 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to Gillingham Primary School are Wyke Primary School (0.7 miles, 74% reading, 82% maths); St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 69% reading, 79% maths); Milton-on-Stour Church of England Primary School (1.4 miles, 72% reading, 39% maths); and Motcombe CofE Primary School (2.5 miles, Good, 86% reading, 75% maths).

Gillingham Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Gillingham Primary School is one of 21 schools run by Pickwick Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

31 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Gillingham Primary School (as of April 2026): 84% would recommend the school, 81% say their child is happy there and 50% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (87%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (50%).

In 2026, 43 pupils (18.5%) received SEN support and 25 (10.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

Gillingham Primary School has a resourced provision for autism: 14 places, 14 pupils on roll.

Gillingham Primary School had 15 teachers in 2026, one for every 16 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Gillingham (Dorset) Rail Station, about 470 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gillingham High St (opp. School Road) (ne-bound), 130 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 52 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Dorset (25), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Gillingham Primary School issued 16 suspensions, 6.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.