St Paul's Infant School, Maidstone

Good
Primary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 47

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~461m)Possible (~659m)Unlikely (~857m)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Sarah Aldridge
Pupils:242 / 270 capacity
LA:Kent
Phone:01622753322
Address:Hillary Road, Maidstone, ME14 2BS
Federation:St Paul's and North Borough Schools Federation
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Inspected 1 July 2025View full report
URN:118461
UKPRN:10074064
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Maidstone and Malling
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St Paul's is an exceptionally nurturing and supportive school where children quickly settle and build confidence in their learning. Reading is at the heart of teaching, with expert phonics instruction helping pupils achieve well. The school provides outstanding emotional support and creates many opportunities for pupils to develop responsibility and character, resulting in happy, well-behaved children who are proud to attend.

Key Strengths

  • Reading is prioritised with consistently high-standard phonics teaching and rising standards of reading achievement
  • Strong relationships and emotional support help pupils develop confidence, resilience and a sense of responsibility
  • Teachers have secure subject knowledge, set high expectations, and adapt learning to meet the needs of all pupils including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
  • Behaviour is excellent with low-level issues in lessons being rare, and attendance is improving
  • Ambitious, well-designed curriculum that helps pupils build on prior knowledge in most subjects

Areas for Improvement

  • In some subjects, essential knowledge that pupils need to learn has not been identified as specifically as it could be, resulting in some pupils having gaps in key knowledge
  • The school should more clearly define the precise knowledge pupils need to learn and when they should learn it across all subjects

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.

St Paul's Infant School is a highly inclusive school that recognises and nurtures each pupil's unique talents, where pupils are happy, safe, and develop positive attitudes to learning. The school has taken effective action to maintain the good standards identified at the previous inspection.

At a Glance

23.6%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

57 responses
Would recommend93%
Child is happy98%
Well taught97%
Good progress88%
Feels safe90%
Well behaved93%
Bullying dealt with12%
Kept informed95%
Handles concerns74%
Wider development88%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Class Sizes

29.0

Avg class size

29.0

Infant (KS1)

7

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Train Stations

Maidstone East Rail Station
882m · 14 min walk

Bus Stops

Boxley Road TA Centre (adj)
231m · 4 min walk
The Dog and Gun (opp)
323m · 5 min walk
Heathfield Road (adj)
476m · 8 min walk
Esso Garage (adj)
490m · 8 min walk
The Hedges (adj)
541m · 9 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

90%

Near capacity

242 pupils

270 capacity

28 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Maidstone

High pressure
New homes approved:3,562
Projected new pupils:891

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Maidstone

Admissions Demand - Kent

Low demand0.86x oversubscription

Places available

19,144

Applications

16,524

Got 1st preference

90.6%

Got preferred school

98.5%

Primary admissions across Kent (2025/26)

Inspection History(7)

1 July 2025
14 January 2020
14 June 2016
Leadership & ManagementGood

House Prices

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

5.85234%

Overall absence

14.57286%

Persistent absence

199

Enrolments

Authorised4.61782%
Unauthorised1.23451%
Persistent (10%+)14.57286%
Severe (50%+)2.01005%

Absence trend

4.92051%
18/19
2.41289%
20/21
6.12686%
21/22
8.05082%
22/23
6.52252%
23/24
5.85234%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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