Kennet Valley Church of England Aided Primary School

About Kennet Valley Church of England Aided Primary School

Kennet Valley Church of England Aided Primary School sits in a quiet corner of Wiltshire, and its headline Key Stage 2 results tell a clear story: this is a school where the basics are taught well, but stretching pupils to the highest levels is a work in progress. In the 2023/24 academic year, 67% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is a solid nine percentage points above the Wiltshire local authority average of 58%. That places the school 52nd out of 201 primary schools in the county, comfortably in the top half. However, only 8% of pupils achieved the higher standard in those same subjects, a figure that suggests the school is more focused on securing core competence than on pushing a significant number of children into the top tier. The average scaled scores in reading and maths both sit at exactly 100, the national benchmark, which reinforces the sense of a school that reliably meets expectations without dramatically exceeding them.

The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2020, rated it Good across the board, including for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. A subsequent ungraded inspection in May 2025 confirmed that standards had been maintained. This is a notable improvement from the school's previous graded inspection in November 2017, when it was judged to require improvement overall, with early years provision rated as Requires Improvement and leadership and management also marked down. The turnaround under headteacher Katie Mallinson appears to have been effective. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and maths individually, and 75% did so in writing, which is a particular strength. The school's national ranking places it in the 39th percentile for its Key Stage 2 combined score, a respectable mid-table position.

With just 58 pupils on a capacity of 112, Kennet Valley is a small school, and that intimacy shows in the parent view data. 90% of the 29 respondents would recommend the school, and 90% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there. The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 17 applications for 10 places and all first-preference applicants receiving an offer, giving a ratio of 1.7 applicants per place. Facilities include a sensory room, chapel, art studios and an ICT suite, and the school offers a range of clubs from drama to eco club. Its SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language communication, and autistic spectrum disorder, though 31% of parent respondents disagreed that SEND children receive the support they need, a notable minority. This is a Church of England school that suits families who value a strong core curriculum in a small, community-focused setting, but those looking for a high proportion of top-grade outcomes may want to look at higher-performing peers in the local area.

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