Herne Bay Junior School, Herne Bay
Herne Bay Junior School is a primary school for pupils aged 7 to 11 in Herne Bay. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2016. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 5th-highest of the 5 schools in Herne Bay with published results, and 14,057th of 14,452 across England. It was 79% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2016)
- Capacity
- 79% full
- Attendance
- Below England average
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Herne Bay Junior School in detail
Herne Bay Junior School in its own words
In its own words: "Our school sits at the heart of the town, serving a diverse community of children with unique experiences and needs. We are committed to providing an education that reflects and responds to those experiences-personalised, inclusive, and rooted in care. We believe that children learn best when they feel safe, secure, and emotionally supported."
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils at Herne Bay Junior School reached the expected standard in reading and 40% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 73% in Kent and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 63% in reading and 58% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Herne Bay Junior School
Across Kent, 90% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 98% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Kent lodged 237 appeals against primary school offers; 166 reached a hearing and 18 succeeded (10.8% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Herne Bay Junior School are Herne Bay Infant School (under 0.1 miles, Good); Hampton Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 59% reading, 61% maths); Herne Church of England Junior School (1.3 miles, Outstanding, 88% reading, 90% maths); and Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School (1.3 miles, Outstanding).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Herne Bay Junior School.
Herne Bay Infant SchoolHampton Primary SchoolHerne Church of England Junior SchoolHerne Church of England Infant and Nursery School
What parents say
72 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Herne Bay Junior School (as of September 2025): 79% would recommend the school, 82% say their child is happy there and 53% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (89%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (53%).
Who goes there
45.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 12.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (77%), Mixed (8%) and Black (6%).
In 2026, 58 pupils (15.6%) received SEN support and 8 (2.2%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Herne Bay Rail Station, about 890 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Queen's Roundabout south (n-bound), 270 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Herne Bay Junior School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 241 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Kent (101), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Herne Bay Junior School issued 53 suspensions, 13.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoThis judgement is from June 2016, 10 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's June 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Herne Bay Junior School creates a welcoming environment where most pupils are respectful and keen to learn. The school takes great care of pupils' well-being and mental health, offering valuable outdoor learning experiences through forest visits that build confidence and teamwork skills. Staff are well-supported by leaders who are considerate of their workload and well-being.
Key Strengths
- Pupils build positive relationships with staff and peers, and are respectful of different cultures and religions - most have positive attitudes to learning
- Well-resourced classrooms and swift identification of pupils needing additional support, including those with SEND
- Strong personal development through forest visits, teamwork opportunities, and well-considered reflection activities that support spiritual development
- Effective support systems including the 'thrive room' and early morning sports club that have improved attendance and punctuality for some pupils
Areas for Improvement
- Lessons do not always focus clearly on the specific knowledge pupils need to learn, leading to incomplete understanding
- Teachers' checks on learning sometimes fail to identify misconceptions and gaps, and important knowledge is not revisited in enough detail
- Some phonics teaching lacks the expertise needed to support early readers in decoding words accurately
- Some poor behaviour, including discriminatory language, continues despite support and action being taken
- Persistent absence remains high for some pupils despite recent improvements
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective overall, with clear systems and an open culture, but expertise around some aspects is less secure and the curriculum could be more preventative in helping pupils consider risks they may face.
Extracurricular Activities
Forest visits, art ambassadors programme, sports leaders, house captains, play leaders, early morning sports club
Herne Bay Junior School is a junior school in Kent with 384 pupils aged 7-11. The school has ambitious curriculum plans but is not consistently achieving its goals, with inspectors finding that the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes both require improvement.
At a Glance
45.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
72 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 63% to 56% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 58% to 40% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 55% to 49% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.5
Avg class size
28.5
KS2
13
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Herne Bay Junior School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Herne Bay Junior School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Herne Bay Junior School is in Kent; for families living there:
Apply to Kent for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 48
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 48 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 43 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise.
6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Kent is 11 (the median across 711 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
79%
Available places
394 pupils
500 places
106 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Herne Bay
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Herne Bay
Across Kent council
Places available
18,893
Applications
16,593
Got 1st preference
89.7%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All primary applications across Kent council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
58
SEN Support
8
EHC Plans
17.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
371
Total Pupils
193
Boys
178
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
23
Teachers
16.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,691
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,518
Per pupil
£2488k
Total funding
£265k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.2%
Overall absence
22.7%
Persistent absence
414
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Herne Bay Junior School
Questions parents ask about Herne Bay Junior School
What are SATs results like at Herne Bay Junior School?
Of the pupils at Herne Bay Junior School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 56% reached the expected standard in reading and 40% did so in maths.
What is Herne Bay Junior School's Ofsted rating?
Herne Bay Junior School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2016, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Herne Bay Junior School?
No fixed boundary. When Herne Bay Junior School is oversubscribed, Kent allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Herne Bay Junior School?
Herne Bay Junior School was not full in 2025: it ran at 79% of its 500 places.
How big are the classes at Herne Bay Junior School?
Classes at Herne Bay Junior School average 28.5 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Herne Bay Junior School?
Herne Bay Junior School has around 371 pupils on roll. 45% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Herne Bay Junior School?
7.2% of sessions were missed at Herne Bay Junior School in 2024/25. 22.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Herne Bay Junior School?
Apply through Kent's coordinated admissions process, naming Herne Bay Junior School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Herne Bay Junior School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 48 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 43 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise. 6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Kent is 11 (the median across 711 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Herne Bay Junior School?
Herne Bay Junior School is at Kings Road, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 5DA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)