The Orchard School
Cambridge Road, Canterbury, CT1 3QQ
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 7 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT)
- Headteacher
- Mr Alistair Hammond
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 119
- URN
- 119058
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227769220
About this school
The Orchard School is a foundation special school in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 7 to 16 and has 119 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -13.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -12.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -13.90 | - | - |
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 | 13 | 16 | 13 |
| Attainment 8 score | 4.2 | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.61 -2.59 to -0.63 | -1.47 -2.19 to -0.76 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
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 The Orchard 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 | 0% | 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 | 4.2 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 6.9 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 6.6 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 18.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 26.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 105 |
| 2023/24 | 104 |
| 2024/25 | 110 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 77.27%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 26.35%
- Persistent absence
- 58.26%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Nicholas' School0.1 miles
Special schools · Canterbury
-
Haven Nook0.5 miles
Special schools · Canterbury
-
Newingate School0.6 miles
Special schools · Canterbury
-
The Worthgate School0.7 miles
Independent schools · Canterbury
-
The King's School Canterbury0.8 miles
Independent schools · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
- Bemix Other types
- Haven Nook Special schools
- Hope View School Special schools
- Newingate School Special schools
- St Nicholas' School Special schools
- Adisham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aylesham Primary School Primary
- Barham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blean Primary School Primary
- Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chartham Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Orchard School teach?
- The Orchard School teaches children aged 7 to 16. It is a special school in Canterbury.
- Who is the headteacher of The Orchard School?
- The headteacher of The Orchard School is Mr Alistair Hammond, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Orchard School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Orchard 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 The Orchard School?
- The Orchard School has 119 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 16.
- Is The Orchard School a faith school?
- No. The Orchard School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs The Orchard School?
- The Orchard School is part of Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT). Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Orchard School have?
- The schools register lists The Orchard School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Orchard School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% 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 The Orchard School's absence rate?
- The Orchard School's overall absence rate is 26.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Orchard School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Orchard 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.