Barming Primary School
Belmont Close, Barming, Maidstone, ME16 9DY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ORCHARD ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Laker
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Allington Primary School Academy Trust (Orchard Academy Trust)
- Constituency
- Maidstone and Malling
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 480
- URN
- 142924
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01622726472
About this school
Barming Primary School is a primary academy in Maidstone. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 480 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Barming Primary 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
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
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 59 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 37% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 57% | 53% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 48% | 49% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| 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 Barming Primary 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 | 44% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 37% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 467 |
| 2023/24 | 482 |
| 2024/25 | 490 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Barming Primary School compares
Barming Primary School ranked 357th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% 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 | 48% | 5.3% | 26.9% | 480 | — |
| Jubilee Primary School | 81% | 4.7% | 26.1% | 386 | 0.7 miles |
| West Borough Primary School | 47% | 5.3% | 25.9% | 456 | 0.8 miles |
| St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone | 46% | 4.2% | 14.1% | 402 | 1.1 miles |
| East Farleigh Primary School | 63% | 5.6% | 16.8% | 199 | 1.4 miles |
| Palace Wood Primary School | 69% | 4.9% | 18.5% | 417 | 1.5 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)
- 26.92%
- English as an additional language
- 12.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.27%
- Persistent absence
- 15.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Jubilee Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Maidstone
-
West Borough Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Maidstone
-
St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone1.1 miles
Primary · Maidstone
-
East Farleigh Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Maidstone
-
Palace Wood Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Maidstone
Other schools in Maidstone
Barming Primary School ranks 36th of the 43 ranked primary schools in Maidstone.
- Allington Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Courtenay Primary School Primary
- Boughton Monchelsea Primary School Primary
- Brunswick House Primary School Primary
- Coxheath Primary School Primary
- East Farleigh Primary School Primary
- Greenfields Community Primary School Primary
- Harrietsham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hollingbourne Primary School Primary
- Hunton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Jubilee Primary School Primary
- Kingswood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Barming Primary School teach?
- Barming Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Maidstone.
- Who is the headteacher of Barming Primary School?
- The headteacher of Barming Primary School is Mr Christopher Laker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Barming Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Barming Primary 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 Barming Primary School?
- Barming Primary School has 480 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Barming Primary School full?
- Barming Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 480 on roll (114%), 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 Barming Primary School a faith school?
- No. Barming Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Barming Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Barming Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Barming Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Barming Primary School is part of ORCHARD ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Barming Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Barming Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Barming Primary School ranked 357th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% 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 Barming Primary School's absence rate?
- Barming Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Barming Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Barming Primary 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 2 July 2026.