Ofsted's June return to Wayfield Primary in Chatham found safeguarding now met and behaviour much better. The school stays in special measures, with five areas still urgent.

Pupils at Wayfield Primary School in Chatham are now safe, and behaviour is much better. That is the finding of Ofsted’s first return visit since the school was placed in special measures.

But the school stays in special measures. Inspectors kept five of its seven areas at the lowest grade, urgent improvement, including the two they came back to check.

The monitoring report covers a one-day visit on 16 June 2026. Ofsted published it on 21 September 2026, more than three months later (Ofsted’s page for the school).

What changed since December

The full inspection on 4 December 2025 found safeguarding not met, the gravest finding in that report. Inspectors wrote then that there were “too many occurrences where staff physically intervene when managing pupils’ behaviour” and that staff lacked the training to do it safely. We reported that grade in August.

In June, the safeguarding standards were met. Inspectors wrote that “pupils are made safer and feel safe”.

On behaviour, the report is plain:

  • “Leaders have acted swiftly and effectively to achieve a marked improvement in pupils’ behaviour.”
  • Physical intervention “is now rarely and appropriately used as a last resort”.
  • “On the whole, most classrooms are calm and focused.”
  • A new “reflection room”, overseen by senior leaders, is where pupils go to reflect on poor behaviour.

Inspectors also found that “pupils, staff and leaders are unanimous about the improvements made”. Staff “feel more listened to and heard than they did in the past”.

What has not changed

The grades. This was a monitoring visit, and inspectors only looked again at two areas: attendance and behaviour, and leadership and governance. Both stay at urgent improvement.

Area December 2025 June 2026
Safeguarding Not met Met
Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement Urgent improvement (rechecked)
Leadership and governance Urgent improvement Urgent improvement (rechecked)
Achievement Urgent improvement Urgent improvement
Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement Urgent improvement
Inclusion Urgent improvement Urgent improvement
Early years Needs attention Needs attention
Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention Needs attention

Attendance is the weak spot in the rechecked areas. Rates “are starting to show signs of improvement” but “remain low”, inspectors wrote. Too many pupils still miss school, “especially pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged”. Leaders have not yet analysed absence patterns, which the December report had asked for.

On leadership, the verdict is that the school “is making the progress that it should towards the category of concern being removed”. Inspectors added that “it is too soon to see a sustained impact” and that “significant elements of the school’s work still require urgent improvement”.

The report also restates the December findings on teaching. Pupils “have a weak understanding of phonics”, and “the school does not prioritise the teaching of reading”.

A new head since April

The headteacher in post at the December inspection has left. Between January and April 2026, two leaders from The Primary First Trust, which runs the school, acted as interim co-headteachers. A new substantive headteacher, Wayne Clayton, took up the post in April 2026, the report says.

The trust has given local governors more challenge and support, and governors are “much better informed than they were previously”, according to inspectors.

Parents remain split. Some “warmly praised the improving picture in recent months but, overall, their views about the school remain mixed”, the report says.

The school in numbers

These are the figures Ofsted used at the December inspection:

  • 424 pupils, against a capacity of 360
  • 41.29% eligible for free school meals at some point in the last six years, against 26.3% nationally
  • 0.47% with an education, health and care plan, against 3.5% nationally
  • 14.86% on SEN support, close to the 15% national figure

The low share of pupils with EHC plans sits alongside the inspectors’ finding that pupils’ needs are not identified accurately. The report does not draw that link itself.

The nine next steps

Ofsted set the school nine next steps. In short, leaders should:

  • keep accurate, reliable safeguarding records, including what was done about each concern
  • check the quality of teaching and train staff where it falls short
  • base their view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses on proper evidence
  • identify the needs of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND accurately, and support them
  • check attendance closely enough to spot patterns
  • make sure staff can teach children to read
  • improve how early years staff build children’s language and communication
  • check that pupil premium money actually reaches disadvantaged pupils
  • keep the behaviour gains going, including at break and lunch

What it means for you

If your child is at Wayfield, the June visit is the first independent sign that the school is safer than it was last winter. The full report is free to read on Ofsted’s site, and you can give your own view through Ofsted Parent View.

Special measures stay in place until Ofsted decides otherwise. It carries out monitoring inspections of every school with an area graded needs attention or urgent improvement, so further visits will follow. It has not published a date for the next one.

We looked for a statement on the school’s own website on 3 October. Its Ofsted page carried no comment on the June visit, and the trust’s website could not be reached.

Choosing a school for September 2027? Our school term dates page has the Medway calendar, and the August round-up of Medway report cards shows how eight local schools were graded.

Sources