St Laurence In Thanet Church of England Junior Academy

About St Laurence In Thanet Church of England Junior Academy

St Laurence In Thanet Church of England Junior Academy was rated Good overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2024, with personal development judged Outstanding. On the most informative exam metric available, the combined reading, writing and maths expected standard at Key Stage 2 was 43 per cent. That is 20 percentage points below the Kent local authority average of 63 per cent for primary schools. The school ranks 23rd out of 25 schools in the Thanet district on this measure, placing it in the bottom 50 per cent nationally. The school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections, with the previous inspection in July 2018 also grading overall effectiveness as Good. The data paints a picture of a school where inspectors see real strengths in how pupils develop as individuals, but where academic outcomes are an area for development compared with local and national benchmarks.

Looking more closely at the Key Stage 2 results, performance varies across subjects. Reading was the strongest area, with 64 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard and 14 per cent achieving a higher score. Writing saw 70 per cent meet the expected standard, though only 2 per cent reached the higher threshold. Maths was weaker, with 50 per cent at the expected standard and just 5 per cent at the higher level. The average scaled scores tell a similar story: 101 in reading, 98 in maths. No pupil achieved the combined higher standard in reading, writing and maths. The school's overall ranking score of 43, based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard across all three subjects, places it in the bottom 50 per cent nationally and in the South East region. For parents focused purely on academic performance, these figures are worth weighing carefully against the school's other strengths.

The school is a Church of England junior academy for pupils aged 7 to 11, with a current roll of 129 against a capacity of 256, meaning there is significant room for growth. A high proportion of pupils, 63.6 per cent, are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, chapel, art studios, music rooms and an ICT suite, plus clubs such as film, book, science and drama. Sports on offer include rounders, gymnastics, dance, netball and cross country. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. The nearest school rated Outstanding is Newington Community Primary School, just 0.7 km away. This is a school that may particularly suit families who value the Church of England character, the strong personal development focus highlighted by Ofsted, and a smaller, less pressured environment.

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