Palace Wood Primary School
Ash Grove, Allington, Maidstone, ME16 0ABOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Palace Wood Primary School is a primary school in Maidstone for ages 4 to 11. It is one of the 692 schools in Kent. It ranks 20th of 42 primary schools in Maidstone. Its latest Ofsted rating is Good, from an inspection in July 2017.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 4 July 2017, report published 18 September 2017
- Overall effectiveness
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years provision
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 14 September 2022
Pupils enjoy school. Playtimes are joyful times, where pupils build strong relationships with one another. They enjoy the many games organised by adults and hoot with laughter during activities such as parachute games. Pupils also work collaboratively while building dens and keep active while playing a range of ball games. As well as during play, teachers have high expectations during lesson times. There is a real sense of ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In lessons, teachers provide helpful resources to make sure that all pupils can access their learning and strengthen their knowledge. Pupils experience a variety of specialist weeks and events, such as sports week and arts week. These events help pupils to build confidence in a range of curriculum areas. Pupils form positive relationships with the staff. If bullying takes place, adults work quickly to address this properly. This helps pupils to feel safe and to build positive relationships with one another. Pupils learn about the school's values of curiosity, challenge, courage and compassion and apply these to their daily lives thoughtfully. On the occasional times pupils behave less well in lessons, they see the sanctions given to them as fair. This helps them to improve their behaviour.
What the school should improve
- Leaders have not checked carefully enough that retrieval strategies introduced to help pupils to remember essential knowledge have been consistently used as leaders intend. Some teachers are not clear about what pupils know and can remember over time in some subjects, and some pupils are not secure in the essential knowledge needed in these subjects. Leaders need to carefully check that teachers understand the purpose of these retrieval strategies and use them as intended so that they can adapt their work to meet the needs of pupils effectively.
Exam results
SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25
64 pupils took the tests
Pupil numbers and mix
417 pupils on roll, with places for 420
Schools near Palace Wood Primary School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allington Primary School | 0.3 miles | Ofsted: Outstanding | 83% met the expected standard |
| St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone | 0.7 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Not published |
| Brunswick House Primary School | 0.7 miles | Ofsted: Good | 65% met the expected standard |
| West Borough Primary School | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | 47% met the expected standard |
| Maidstone, St Michael's Church of England Junior School | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | 69% met the expected standard |
School details
- School type
- Community school
- Sector
- Local authority maintained
- Age range
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Nursery classes
- No
- Headteacher
- Mrs Clare Cairns
- Phone
- 01622750084
- Address
- Ash Grove, Allington, Maidstone, ME16 0AB
- Local authority
- Kent
- URN
- 135106
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.