At least one Maidstone primary school is expected to go into special measures today, with another told it must improve.

The bombshell announcement from government inspectors is due to be delivered just weeks before parents find out what primary school places their children have been given.

It comes after Ofsted revealed almost a quarter of schools in the county are not meeting minimum standards.

Barming Primary School has already been told by Ofsted that it is recommending the school be put into special measures, although the report will not be made public until today.

The Belmont Close school, which has around 400 pupils on its roll, was labelled “requires improvement” in its last inspection in 2013 .

Head teacher Robin Halls left the school earlier this month, and a new executive head has been appointed, Karen Dhanecha, who is also head teacher of Park Way Primary.

After his school’s Ofsted in 2013, Mr Halls and his team were told to adopt an improvement plan and that external support would be brought in, with consultants working with staff to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

"Unfortunately much of an Ofsted judgement is based around historical data; the current picture is hugely improved..." - Palace Wood interim executive head, Mary Priestly

KentOnline's sister paper the Kent Messenger informed the school and Kent County Council that it was going to publish the inspectors’ findings, but no one was available for comment as the report is not yet in the public domain.

Parents will be allocated school places for their children on Thursday, April 16, with many now discovering theirs is deemed as failing.

Palace Wood Primary in Talbot Road, Allington has also been given a "requires improvement" rating by Ofsted.

Inspectors said staffing changes had impacted on efforts to improve teaching. It has been without a permanent head teacher since July 2013.

Palace Wood is being run by interim executive head Mary Priestley and head of school Emma Ridout, while head Mark Chatley starts in September.

The report said progress was uneven across the school and there was slower progress in writing than reading and maths. It also criticised some teachers’ marking and their expectations for pupils.

Mrs Priestley said: “The Ofsted team were extremely complimentary about how much has been achieved over a short time-period.

"Unfortunately much of an Ofsted judgement is based around historical data; the current picture is hugely improved and this is emphasised throughout the full report.”

The report praised current leadership and said pupils made rapid progress in reception, and students across the school were engaged and interested in lessons.

She added: “There is a gritty determination and confidence that the school will continue to make the rapid and sustained improvements that the team saw.”

The school received "good" in leadership and management and behaviour and safety of pupils, and ‘requires improvement’ in the other two categories and overall.

But there is better news for parents elsewhere.

Coxheath Primary School in Stockett Lane has been judged as "good" in all five categories and overall by Ofsted, after inspectors visited last month.

The school was previously judged as requiring improvement. Leadership and management was praised along with enthusiastic and effective teaching.

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