Bower Grove School
Fant Lane, Maidstone, ME16 8NL
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Mrs Maz Cleave
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Maidstone and Malling
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 225
- Pupils on roll
- 246
- URN
- 119036
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01622726773
About this school
Bower Grove School is a foundation special school in Maidstone. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 246 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bower Grove School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 27 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 7% | 11% | 7% |
| Expected standard in maths | 7% | 7% | 3% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 7% | 11% | 7% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 113.0 | 105.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -10.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -10.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 32 | 25 | 29 |
| Attainment 8 score | 5.9 | 6.2 | 8.9 |
| Progress 8 score | - | -1.18 -1.77 to -0.59 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 6% | 4% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Bower Grove 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 | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 6.2 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 8.9 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 17.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 238 |
| 2023/24 | 241 |
| 2024/25 | 239 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report20 November 2024
- 18 September 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 69.46%
- English as an additional language
- 1.3%
- Overall absence
- 15.62%
- Persistent absence
- 39.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Maidstone and Malling Alternative Provision0.9 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Maidstone
-
St Helens Montessori School1.2 miles
Independent schools · Maidstone
-
MEPA ACADEMY1.5 miles
Independent schools
-
Serenity School Maidstone1.7 miles
Special schools · Maidstone
-
Five Acre Wood School2.3 miles
Special schools · Maidstone
Other schools in Maidstone
- Earley Springs Special schools
- Five Acre Wood School Special schools
- King's Reach Education Special schools
- Leigh Academy Snowfields Free Schools
- Maidstone and Malling Alternative Provision Local authority maintained schools
- Serenity School Maidstone Special schools
- Allington Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Courtenay Primary School Primary
- Barming Primary School Primary
- Boughton Monchelsea Primary School Primary
- Brunswick House Primary School Primary
- Coxheath Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bower Grove School teach?
- Bower Grove School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is a special school in Maidstone.
- Who is the head teacher of Bower Grove School?
- The head teacher of Bower Grove School is Mrs Maz Cleave, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bower Grove School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bower Grove 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 many pupils are at Bower Grove School?
- Bower Grove School has 246 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is Bower Grove School full?
- Bower Grove School has capacity for 225 pupils and 246 on roll (109%), so it is at or above 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 Bower Grove School a faith school?
- No. Bower Grove School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Bower Grove School have?
- The schools register lists Bower Grove School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bower Grove School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 7% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bower Grove School's absence rate?
- Bower Grove School's overall absence rate is 15.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bower Grove School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bower Grove School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
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.