New Horizons Children's Academy
Park Crescent, Chatham, ME4 6NR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Ms Kirstie Jones
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 618
- URN
- 140215
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03333602115
About this school
New Horizons Children's Academy is a primary academy in Chatham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 618 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 May 2022, 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 | 89 | 90 | 94 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 49% | 68% | 35% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 9% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 77% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 61% | 77% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 72% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.90 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How New Horizons Children's Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Medway average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49% | 56.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 35% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 639 |
| 2023/24 | 662 |
| 2024/25 | 631 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How New Horizons Children's Academy compares
New Horizons Children's Academy ranked 55th of 57 primary schools in Medway for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35% | 5.3% | 22.2% | 618 | — |
| Wayfield Primary School | 31% | 8.1% | 41.3% | 428 | 0.5 miles |
| Balfour Infant School | — | 4.9% | 23.1% | 244 | 0.5 miles |
| Greenvale Primary School | — | 7.8% | 50% | 192 | 0.6 miles |
| Balfour Junior School | 71% | 5.5% | 31.7% | 480 | 0.6 miles |
| Warren Wood Primary School | 38% | 5.7% | 38.1% | 458 | 0.7 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)
- 22.17%
- English as an additional language
- 27.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.26%
- Persistent absence
- 14.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wayfield Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chatham
-
Balfour Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Rochester
-
Greenvale Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Chatham
-
Balfour Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Chatham
-
Warren Wood Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Rochester
Other schools in Chatham
New Horizons Children's Academy ranks 16th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Chatham.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balfour Junior School Primary
- Greenvale Primary School Primary
- Horsted Infant School Primary
- Horsted Junior School Primary
- Kingfisher Community Primary School Primary
- Lordswood School Primary
- Luton Primary School Primary
- Maundene School Primary
- New Road Primary School Primary
- Oaklands School Primary
- Phoenix Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does New Horizons Children's Academy teach?
- New Horizons Children's Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chatham.
- Who is the head teacher of New Horizons Children's Academy?
- The head teacher of New Horizons Children's Academy is Ms Kirstie Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was New Horizons Children's Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected New Horizons Children's Academy, 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 New Horizons Children's Academy?
- New Horizons Children's Academy has 618 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is New Horizons Children's Academy full?
- New Horizons Children's Academy has capacity for 630 pupils and 618 on roll (98%), 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 New Horizons Children's Academy a faith school?
- No. New Horizons Children's Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does New Horizons Children's Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records New Horizons Children's Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs New Horizons Children's Academy?
- New Horizons Children's Academy is part of THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have New Horizons Children's Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 49% in 2022/23 and 35% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does New Horizons Children's Academy rank locally?
- New Horizons Children's Academy ranked 55th of 57 primary schools in Medway for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is New Horizons Children's Academy's absence rate?
- New Horizons Children's Academy's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are New Horizons Children's Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, New Horizons Children's Academy'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.