A brand new primary, opened in September 2023, Lime Wood has the feel of a school still writing its traditions while the community around it expands. That matters in practical ways. There is no published Key Stage 2 track record yet because the first cohort has not reached Year 6, and the school is still scaling year by year towards its planned size.
The headline for families is clarity. Leadership is visible, and the school’s priorities are spelled out plainly: high expectations, consistent routines, and an emphasis on reading culture and communication. House names are drawn from children’s authors used across the curriculum, with a stated aim of building reading for pleasure early and deliberately.
Admissions demand already looks real. In the latest local data available, there were 126 applications for 60 Reception offers, which is 2.1 applications per place. First preferences were slightly higher than offers, suggesting many families are targeting the school as a first choice rather than a backup. (There is no published distance cut off yet.)
New schools can sometimes feel generic, but Lime Wood is trying to anchor identity through repeatable structures rather than slogans. The most distinctive example is the house system tied to children’s literature. The school explicitly links the houses to reading culture and to the texts pupils will encounter as the curriculum expands year on year.
Leadership is strongly associated with inclusion and community-facing work. Miss Claire Ingrams is listed as Headteacher and she has been in post since the school opened in September 2023. Her published biography focuses on SEND leadership and trust-wide inclusion roles, which hints at a school likely to be proactive about early identification and targeted support, even as numbers rise.
A second defining feature is that Lime Wood is building mainstream provision alongside specialist capacity from an early stage. The Tiny Seed Specialist Resource Provision opened in November 2025, designed for pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan where primary need is autism and or speech, language and communication needs, within a mainstream setting. For many local families, that is not a niche add-on, it changes what the school can offer day to day for expertise, staff skill mix, and the normalisation of inclusive practice.
There is not yet a published end of Key Stage 2 results profile for Lime Wood. That is expected for a school that opened in September 2023 with its first Reception cohort and is growing year by year.
For parents trying to judge academic direction, the best indicators at this stage are the school’s stated curriculum design priorities and the concrete resourcing that supports them. The school positions early reading, oracy, and Universal Design for Learning as named curriculum threads, and it is already describing specialist spaces that normally appear later in a school’s lifecycle, such as a dedicated food science room and an art and design and technology space.
Because performance data is not yet mature, teaching and curriculum choices matter more than usual in judging fit. Lime Wood publishes a fairly detailed curriculum map through its website navigation, including early reading and phonics, oracy, computing, and an explicit Universal Design for Learning strand.
The implications for families are practical. A strong early reading emphasis tends to suit children who thrive on routine and repetition, particularly in Reception and Key Stage 1. The UDL framing, especially alongside the Tiny Seed provision, suggests the school intends to plan from the start for varied learner profiles, not retrofit adaptations later.
This is a primary school for ages 4 to 11, so the usual route is transfer to a local Bexley secondary at Year 7.
Because Lime Wood is new, families should treat “typical” destination patterns cautiously until a few cohorts have moved on. If you are planning around a particular secondary option, focus on travel time and admissions criteria for that school, not assumptions about historic pipelines.
Lime Wood’s Reception Published Admission Number is 60. Applications for Reception places are made through Bexley Council’s coordinated admissions process, not directly with the school.
For Reception entry in September 2026, the application window opened on 01 September 2025 and the closing date was 15 January 2026. Bexley has indicated that offers for on-time online applications are sent on 16 April 2026.
Demand looks healthy. With 126 applications for 60 offers in the latest available round, the school is oversubscribed. That can translate into a tight distance pattern over time, even if a definitive distance cut off is not yet published. Parents should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check distance from the school gate and sense-check travel options before relying on a place.
Specialist Resource Provision admissions run separately. Tiny Seed places are managed via the Bexley SEND EHCP panel, with eligibility criteria set out for children with an EHCP and primary need of autism and or speech, language and communication needs.
Applications
126
Total received
Places Offered
60
Subscription Rate
2.1x
Apps per place
Pastoral structures in a growing school need to scale fast, and Lime Wood signals this through named roles across safeguarding and wellbeing. The published staff listing includes a Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputy DSL roles, plus a wellbeing coach and youth mental health first aider within the inclusion team.
The Tiny Seed model adds another layer. Where SRPs work well, children who need specialist support can access it without being separated from wider school life, and mainstream pupils learn early that difference is normal. Lime Wood’s published description emphasises integration, structured social development, and family partnership, which are all good signs if your child benefits from predictable routines and communication support.
A useful marker of day-to-day experience is how a school uses enrichment to build routine and community, not just to “add clubs”. Lime Wood publishes a rotating club schedule by half term, with named providers and themes.
For 2025 and into 2026, the timetable includes Drumming Club with Rhythm Academy on Mondays and Thursdays, and a Tennis Club with GT Centre of Sport on Fridays. There are also termly or half-termly Key Stage 1 clubs like Art Adventure Club, Garden Explorers Club, Illustrators Club, and a Key Stage 1 multisport option called The Sport Squad, plus Early Years options such as Once Upon a Story Club and Mini Makers Art Club.
The implication is that enrichment is being used as a structured extension of the curriculum, especially around creativity, movement, and early language and storytelling. If your child responds well to hands-on making, rhythm, and routine-based clubs, this is likely to feel like a coherent offer rather than an occasional add-on.
This is a state school with no tuition fees.
Breakfast and after school provision is offered via a childcare partner. Breakfast Club runs from 7am and After School Club runs until 6.30pm. The school’s published “School Day” page does not clearly state start and finish times in accessible text, so families should confirm the daily timetable directly with the school office.
For transport, Erith station is the nearest rail hub. Local bus connections run through Erith town centre and the station area, which can help with older pupils travelling independently later on.
A new school means limited headline data. Lime Wood opened in September 2023, so there is not yet a Key Stage 2 results record for Year 6.
Oversubscription is already a feature. With 126 applications for 60 offers in the latest available round, entry pressure is real and may tighten as the local community grows.
No published Ofsted report yet. Ofsted’s report page for the school indicates no report is currently available, which is common for newly opened schools.
Mainstream plus SRP can change the feel of the school. Tiny Seed opened in November 2025 and the school describes a highly inclusive model. This will suit many families, but it is worth discussing how mainstream classes are supported day to day and how integration works in practice.
Lime Wood Primary is a young school with a clear direction: build strong foundations in reading, communication and inclusive practice, then scale without losing structure. It will suit families who like the idea of a growing school, want a modern approach to SEND inclusion within a mainstream community, and are comfortable judging the school on culture and curriculum intent while results data matures. The main limitation is that, as of 06 February 2026, there is not yet a published Ofsted report or Key Stage 2 performance record to use as an external benchmark.
It is a very new school, opened in September 2023, so it does not yet have a Key Stage 2 results record and there is no published Ofsted report available at present. Families should judge quality through published curriculum information, behaviour and inclusion approach, and how well the school communicates and supports pupils as it grows.
Reception applications are made through Bexley Council’s coordinated admissions process. For September 2026 entry, the closing date was 15 January 2026, with offers issued on 16 April 2026 for on-time online applications.
Yes. In the latest available admissions round, there were 126 Reception applications for 60 offers, which is 2.1 applications per place. That level of demand usually means distance and priority criteria matter.
Yes. Breakfast Club runs from 7am and After School Club runs until 6.30pm, delivered with a childcare partner.
Clubs rotate by half term. Recent examples include Drumming Club with Rhythm Academy, Tennis Club with GT Centre of Sport, and pupil-facing themes such as Garden Explorers Club, Illustrators Club, Once Upon a Story Club, and Mini Makers Art Club.
Get in touch with the school directly
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