Balfour Infant School
Pattens Lane, Rochester, ME1 2QT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Joseph Pomeroy
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 244
- URN
- 118329
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634338280
About this school
Balfour Infant School is a community primary school in Rochester. It teaches children aged 5 to 7 and has 244 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Balfour Infant School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 266 |
| 2023/24 | 268 |
| 2024/25 | 260 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Balfour Infant School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.9% | 23.1% | 244 | — |
| Balfour Junior School | 71% | 5.5% | 31.7% | 480 | 0.2 miles |
| Crest Infant School | — | 9.1% | 37.7% | 121 | 0.3 miles |
| Delce Academy | 60% | 8.7% | 53.2% | 287 | 0.4 miles |
| New Horizons Children's Academy | 35% | 5.3% | 22.2% | 618 | 0.5 miles |
| Warren Wood Primary School | 38% | 5.7% | 38.1% | 458 | 0.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.08%
- English as an additional language
- 36.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.93%
- Persistent absence
- 10.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Balfour Junior School0.2 miles
Primary · Chatham
-
Crest Infant School0.3 miles
Primary · Rochester
-
Delce Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Rochester
-
New Horizons Children's Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Chatham
-
Warren Wood Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Rochester
Other schools in Rochester
- All Faiths Children's Academy Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Infants) Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Juniors) Primary
- Burham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cedar Children's Academy Primary
- Chattenden Primary School Primary
- Cliffe Woods Primary School Primary
- Crest Infant School Primary
- Cuxton Community Infant School Primary
- Cuxton Community Junior School Primary
- Delce Academy Primary
- Elaine Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Balfour Infant School teach?
- Balfour Infant School teaches children aged 5 to 7. It is a primary school in Rochester.
- Who is the headteacher of Balfour Infant School?
- The headteacher of Balfour Infant School is Mr Joseph Pomeroy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Balfour Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Balfour Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Balfour Infant School?
- Balfour Infant School has 244 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 7.
- Is Balfour Infant School full?
- Balfour Infant School has capacity for 270 pupils and 244 on roll (90%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Balfour Infant School a faith school?
- No. Balfour Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Balfour Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Balfour Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- What is Balfour Infant School's absence rate?
- Balfour Infant School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Balfour Infant School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Balfour Infant School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.