Primary school in Canterbury, Kent
Water Meadows Primary School
Shaftesbury Road, Hersden, Canterbury, Kent, CT3 4HS
Ofsted
Standards maintained at the last ungraded inspection, on 29 January 2025.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is in the upper half of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the top quarter.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 188
- Places
- 210
- How full
- 90% full — 188 of 210 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 104 / 84
- Overall absence
- 7%
- Persistently absent
- 25%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 42%
- English as an additional language
- 16%
- With an EHC plan
- 2%
- On SEN support
- 20%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Canterbury 010C, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 28%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 20%
- Households owning their home
- 63%
- Households in social housing
- 17%
- Households with no car
- 12%
- Adults economically inactive
- 37%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- THE STOUR ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Ben Martin
- Local authority
- Kent
- Ward
- Sturry
- Constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- URN
- 138579
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoath Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 71% | 1.4 mi |
| Sturry Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 78% | 1.5 mi |
| Chislet Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school | Good 2022 | 47% | 1.9 mi |
| Wickhambreaux Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | — | 2.5 mi |
| Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery SchoolVoluntary controlled school | No grade | — | 2.5 mi |
| Herne Church of England Junior SchoolVoluntary aided school | Outstanding 2023 | 81% | 2.6 mi |
| Littlebourne Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school | No grade | 47% | 2.8 mi |
| Parkside Community Foundation Primary SchoolFoundation school | Good 2023 | 23% | 3 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Grafton Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 70% |
| Heathbrook Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 76% |
| Larkhall Primary CampusCommunity school | Good 2023 | 63% |
| Richard Atkins Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 50% |
| Athelney Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 43% |
| Albion Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 69% |
| Alfred Salter Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 73% |
| St Jude's Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 43% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.