Joy Lane Primary Foundation School
Joy Lane, Whitstable, CT5 4LT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 1 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Coastal Alliance Co-operative Trust
- Headteacher
- Ms Debra Hines
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 621
- URN
- 135130
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227261430
About this school
Joy Lane Primary Foundation School is a foundation primary school in Whitstable. It teaches children aged 1 to 11 and has 621 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 24 April 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 88 | 90 | 77 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 59% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 11% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 77% | 65% |
| Expected standard in maths | 60% | 71% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 73% | 58% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.40 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Joy Lane Primary Foundation 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 | 53% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 619 |
| 2023/24 | 616 |
| 2024/25 | 619 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Joy Lane Primary Foundation School compares
Joy Lane Primary Foundation School ranked 288th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 5.4% | 24.2% | 621 | — |
| Whitstable Junior School | 68% | 6.2% | 33% | 202 | 0.6 miles |
| St Alphege Church of England Infant School | — | 5.9% | 18.5% | 206 | 0.6 miles |
| Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School | 73% | 5.6% | 16.9% | 226 | 0.7 miles |
| Westmeads Community Infant School | — | 4.4% | 24.3% | 183 | 0.9 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable | 68% | 5.1% | 16.1% | 301 | 1.3 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)
- 24.23%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.37%
- Persistent absence
- 15.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Whitstable Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
St Alphege Church of England Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
Westmeads Community Infant School0.9 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable1.3 miles
Primary · Whitstable
Other schools in Whitstable
Joy Lane Primary Foundation School ranks 4th of the 5 ranked primary schools in Whitstable.
- St Alphege Church of England Infant School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Primary
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Westmeads Community Infant School Primary
- Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School Primary
- Whitstable Junior School Primary
- The Whitstable School Secondary
- The Far Academy CIC Other types
Common questions
- What year groups does Joy Lane Primary Foundation School teach?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School teaches children aged 1 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Joy Lane Primary Foundation School?
- The headteacher of Joy Lane Primary Foundation School is Ms Debra Hines, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Joy Lane Primary Foundation School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Joy Lane Primary Foundation 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 Joy Lane Primary Foundation School?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School has 621 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 1 to 11.
- Is Joy Lane Primary Foundation School full?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School has capacity for 630 pupils and 621 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Joy Lane Primary Foundation School a faith school?
- No. Joy Lane Primary Foundation School has no designated religious character.
- Does Joy Lane Primary Foundation School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Joy Lane Primary Foundation School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Joy Lane Primary Foundation School?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School is part of The Coastal Alliance Co-operative Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Joy Lane Primary Foundation School have?
- The schools register lists Joy Lane Primary Foundation School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Joy Lane Primary Foundation School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Joy Lane Primary Foundation School rank locally?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School ranked 288th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Joy Lane Primary Foundation School's absence rate?
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Joy Lane Primary Foundation School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Joy Lane Primary Foundation 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 1 July 2026.