Balfour Infant School

About Balfour Infant School

Parents considering Balfour Infant School will find strong signals of satisfaction in the most recent Parent View survey, which ran from September 2024 to September 2025. An impressive 88% of the 16 respondents said they would recommend the school, and the feedback on day-to-day experience is notably positive. 94% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy at the school, and the same proportion felt their child is safe. Behaviour is also a clear strength, with 88% agreeing the school ensures pupils are well behaved. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 195 applications for just 65 places, a ratio of three applicants per place. Of those, 62 families listed Balfour as their first preference, and all 62 were offered a place. This level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, though it is worth noting that a small minority of parents expressed dissatisfaction on certain measures, including how concerns are handled and the range of clubs on offer.

Academically, Balfour Infant School was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024, with all inspected areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, early years provision, and leadership and management — each judged to be Good. The school has held a Good rating consistently, with its previous graded inspection in 2010 also awarding Good overall. As an infant school taking children from age 5 to 7, Balfour does not sit Key Stage 2 SATs, so direct comparison with the Medway local authority average of 62% achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths is not possible. However, the school’s capacity of 270 pupils is nearly full at 260, and its 23.1% of pupils eligible for free school meals is slightly above the national average, indicating a broadly inclusive intake. The school’s most recent Ofsted report noted that early years provision is Good, which is a solid foundation for children starting their school journey.

Balfour Infant School offers a practical, well-resourced environment for young children. Facilities include an ICT suite, gymnasium, sports hall, outdoor playground, sensory room, and a Forest School area, which supports outdoor learning. The school also has a chapel, a relatively unusual feature for a non-religious community school. Sports provision covers football, dance, cricket, rounders, swimming, netball, and athletics, while clubs include art, choir, film, eco, drama, and science. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is a state-funded, mixed-gender primary for ages 5 to 7, with no nursery or sixth form. Given its oversubscription, families living close to the school in Medway will have the best chance of securing a place, and the school is well suited to parents who prioritise a strong sense of safety and happiness in the early years.

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