SchoolsGPT
Home › Areas › Kent › Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Maidstone, ME18 6DP · Kent · primary school

Ofsted: Good · 2019 Mixed Primary Church of England
OfstedGood
Pupils145
FSM15.9%
KS2 expected56%
AI summary of the Ofsted report Inspected 2025-02-03 · Tap to collapse

Generated by AI from the official inspection report — not written by Ofsted or SchoolsGPT staff. Always read the full Ofsted PDF before relying on this summary.

Overview: Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. Pupils are enthusiastic about coming to school and learning, and the school has high expectations for pupils' conduct and achievement. The school provides a supportive and inclusive environment, with a strong sense of community.

Strengths:

  • Teachers sequence curriculum effectively so that pupils' knowledge builds over time.
  • The school supports the development of pupils' vocabulary at every stage.
  • Pupils are enthusiastic about reading, retelling stories, and explaining their favourite characters.
  • The school provides dedicated nurture spaces for pupils to use, for example, if they feel overwhelmed.
  • The school helps pupils to develop a clear sense of right and wrong, and promotes respectful and tolerant attitudes.

Areas to improve:

  • At times, teachers are not systematic about checking and correcting what pupils understand within some lessons. When this happens, pupils' gaps in learning, errors or misconceptions are not addressed thoroughly.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Open official report ↗

Catchment / designated area

'Nearness of home to school' is the criterion for community/VC schools; a defined catchment area is only created ad hoc where new housing development requires a new/enlarged school — the exception, not the rule.

Source: Kent admissions policy

Ofsted judgement breakdown (2019-01-29)

Overall effectiveness
Good
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding is effective?
Yes
Early years provision (where applicable)
Good

What the entrance test covers

The Kent Test has two multiple-choice papers, each roughly an hour long: 1. English & Maths — split into two 30-minute sections: English (reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary) and Maths (Key Stage 2 curriculum up to the start of Year 6). 2. Reasoning — Verbal Reasoning (vocabulary, sequences, logic, analogies) and Non-Verbal/Spatial Reasoning (shapes, rotations, matrices, pattern recognition), combined into a single reasoning score. There is also an unmarked writing task (around 40 minutes including planning time). It isn't scored directly, but may be used by a local headteacher assessment panel for borderline cases. Note: the Kent Test is NOT the same as the Medway Test — Medway is a separate authority with its own different test (separate registration, different papers). Passing one does not qualify a child for the other area's schools (except Chatham Grammar, which accepts either).

Similar schools nearby

Same area, prioritising the same phase — useful for shortlisting alternatives.

Hunton Church of England Primary School 1.2 mi · Primary · Good Maidstone, ME15 0SJ Laddingford St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 1.7 mi · Primary · Good Maidstone, ME18 6BL Wateringbury Church of England Primary School 1.8 mi · Primary · Requires improvement Maidstone, ME18 5EA East Peckham Primary School 2.3 mi · Primary · Requires improvement Tonbridge, TN12 5LH East Farleigh Primary School 2.7 mi · Primary · Good Maidstone, ME15 0LY St Margaret's, Collier Street Church of England Voluntary Controlled School 2.7 mi · Primary · Good Tonbridge, TN12 9RR

Data sourced from GIAS, Ofsted and official Kent admissions publications. Figures can change year to year — always confirm with the school before applying.

Have a specific question about admissions, scores or dates?

Ask SchoolsGPT