Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #20 in Kent public Top 14% UK

Lift St James the Great

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMiss Tamasin Springett

corporate_fareACADEMIES ENTERPRISE TRUST

location_onEast Malling, ME19 6SD

language Visit Website phone 1732841912

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2018

groups

Students

197

school

Expected Standard

79%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Lift St James the Great is a Academy sponsor led primary school in East Malling, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 14% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Lift St James the Great is an academy sponsor led in East Malling, Kent, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of ACADEMIES ENTERPRISE TRUST. The school has approximately 192 pupils on roll, of whom 51% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 79% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 11% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #20 of 424 primaries in Kent and #729 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2018. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 15.8:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.8 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

79%

LA 61%

Reading82% LA 74%

Writing82% LA 72%

Maths86% LA 70%

Read SS

110

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

80%

LA 60%England 61%

Reading80% LA 75% · Eng 74%

Writing80% LA 73% · Eng 72%

Maths83% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading71% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing81% LA 72% · Eng 71%

Maths71% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.2

Read

LA -0.4

-0.7 to 5.0

3.9

Write

LA -0.2

1.2 to 6.7

3.5

Maths

LA -1.2

0.8 to 6.1

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

80%

LA 67%England 65%

Reading88% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 81% · Eng 78%

Maths84% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.4

Read

LA 0.0

-2.1 to 2.8

1.1

Write

LA 0.1

-1.2 to 3.4

1.2

Maths

LA -0.6

-0.9 to 3.4

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

64%

LA 65%

Reading68% LA 76%

Writing71% LA 80%

Maths82% LA 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1

Read

LA 0.0

-3.3 to 1.3

1.2

Write

LA 0.4

-1 to 3.4

1.1

Maths

LA -0.5

-0.9 to 3.1

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

12 September 2023

Inspection Report

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07 March 2018

Inspection Report

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20 March 2014

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2018-03-07

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2014-03-20

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

1.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.0%(2 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 192 pupils. During this period, there were 3 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.6%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	192	3	1.6%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	191	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	227	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	221	3	1.4%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	213	2	0.9%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	207	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	197	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	189	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	195	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	197	1	0.5%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	199	1	0.5%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	214	1	0.5%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	204	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	204	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	209	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	209	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	204	1	0.5%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	221	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	210	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	202	2	1.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	223	1	0.4%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	225	1	0.4%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	221	4	1.8%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	236	1	0.4%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	213	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	207	0	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 12 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 10 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 4 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Hearing Impairment 4 pupils

Physical Disability 2 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 2 pupils

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Lift St James the Great

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Kent

Westgate Primary School

Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard

Kingsdown and Ringwould Church of England Primary School

Thornden Wood Primary School

Leigh Academy Paddock Wood

The Discovery School