The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
This is an infant setting that prioritises routines, kindness, and early confidence in learning. It sits in Gravesend, Kent, and serves children from Reception through to Year 2. It is also closely linked to the wider primary provision on the same site, following the creation of The Riverview Academy in September 2025.
The most recent inspection outcome attached to this setting is Good, with Personal development judged Outstanding (inspection date 07 December 2021).
For families, the headline is fit rather than headline statistics. This is a school where expectations are clear, where adults explicitly teach behaviour and routines, and where early years and Key Stage 1 provision is organised around a predictable day. For parents who want a steady start, and who value pastoral development alongside phonics and early number sense, that combination will feel reassuring.
The tone the school sets is strongly values-led. The published values place kindness first, supported by respect, resilience, responsibility, teamwork, and excellence. The important point is not the words themselves, it is the way they are explained in plain language, including how adults want pupils to treat one another and how they want pupils to think about effort and improvement.
In early years and Key Stage 1, that clarity tends to show up in the small moments that matter to families: consistent expectations at the gate, adults who reinforce routines without drama, and classrooms where pupils understand what is coming next. This matters more than it sounds. Reception and Year 1 pupils learn best when cognitive load is not consumed by uncertainty. A predictable environment frees up attention for phonics, talk, listening, and early writing.
The leadership structure is also worth understanding because families will see a mix of titles. The school site and provision sit under The Riverview Academy branding. The academy’s published safeguarding information names Mr D Siggs as Headteacher, and the staff listing shows Mr Keen as Head of School. In practice, parents usually experience this as a visible day to day leadership team, with strategic oversight at academy level.
A final point on atmosphere is inclusion. The school explicitly positions itself as inclusive and committed to supporting individuality. For infant-aged pupils, that usually translates into strong adult presence, early identification of need, and a steady emphasis on social development, especially around friendships, turn-taking, and learning to manage feelings in a group setting.
Because this is an infant school, you should not expect the same kind of headline performance data families see for junior or full primary schools. The national statutory end point most parents recognise is Key Stage 2, which sits beyond Year 2. In settings like this, the most useful academic indicators are often qualitative: the quality of the early reading approach, the consistency of teaching routines, and how well the school builds language and vocabulary across Reception and Key Stage 1.
The official inspection record attached to this provision describes a school that meets the expected standard overall, with a particular strength in pupils’ personal development. The most recent inspection outcome is Good (07 December 2021).
For families comparing infant options locally, the practical implication is that you should focus your questions on the fundamentals that drive later attainment:
How phonics is taught, including pace and intervention for pupils who do not keep up
How talk is structured in Reception and Year 1, including vocabulary development
How writing is built from fine motor control through to sentence construction
How maths is sequenced, particularly number sense, fluency, and problem solving in simple contexts
A good infant education is often defined less by a single metric and more by whether pupils leave Year 2 reading fluently, writing with confidence, and approaching learning with curiosity rather than anxiety.
The school day structure, including a defined gate window and clear start time, supports a teaching model built on routine. For EYFS and Key Stage 1, the published day begins with a morning gate window of 8.40 to 8.50, registration at 8.50, and a 3.15 finish. That matters because short, consistent transitions reduce low level disruption and make it easier for staff to protect learning time.
Beyond timetables, the school’s published curriculum and enrichment framing places emphasis on cultural capital, personal development, and broad experiences, including Forest School, Eco-School work, Bikeability, themed weeks, and a pupil voice structure. In infant terms, this kind of provision usually functions as a vocabulary engine. Pupils build background knowledge through shared experiences, then bring that language back into reading comprehension and writing.
If you are assessing teaching quality as a parent, ask the school how it handles three predictable early-years challenges:
Phonics catch-up for pupils who need extra practice and repetition
Writing stamina, especially for pupils who find fine motor tasks tiring
Behaviour for learning, including how staff explicitly teach routines rather than relying on compliance
A school that can explain these with detail, and show how they communicate progress to parents, is usually a school that understands how early learning works.
Quality of Education
Good
Behaviour & Attitudes
Good
Personal Development
Outstanding
Leadership & Management
Good
FMS Inspection Score calculated by FindMySchool based on official inspection data.
For infant schools, “destinations” is less about named secondary schools and more about what happens at the end of Year 2. The practical question is transition into Key Stage 2 and whether the move is straightforward.
In this case, the infant provision sits within the wider Riverview primary structure on the same site, under The Riverview Academy umbrella. The implication is that transition into junior years should feel continuous: familiar routines, shared expectations, and often shared pastoral systems. Parents should still ask how Year 2 transition is handled, including summer-term visits, shared learning projects, and how support plans (including special educational needs support) transfer smoothly into Year 3.
For families who anticipate moving house or changing schools later, the most valuable “destination” question becomes: do pupils leave Year 2 as confident readers and writers, able to access the junior curriculum without needing significant catch-up? That is the foundation that matters.
Admission for Reception places in Kent is coordinated through the local authority process, and the school’s demand data indicates clear competition. For the Reception entry route in the most recent data, there were 186 applications for 85 offers, which is about 2.19 applications per place, and the entry route is marked Oversubscribed.
That level of demand usually means families should treat application deadlines as non-negotiable and ensure their preferences are realistic.
For September 2026 entry specifically, Kent’s published primary admissions timeline includes:
National closing date for applications: Thursday 15 January 2026
National Offer Day: Thursday 16 April 2026
Deadline to accept or refuse the offered school: Thursday 30 April 2026
Appeals lodged by Monday 18 May 2026 to be heard before September (where possible)
The school also published open events for Reception 2026 in the autumn term and early January. Those dates were primarily in October and November, with tours also scheduled in January. Because these events are time-sensitive and patterns can shift, treat this as a typical seasonal window, and check the school’s current listings for the next cycle.
A practical tip for families in oversubscribed areas is to use the FindMySchool Map Search to sanity-check travel time and local alternatives, then use the Saved Schools feature to manage your shortlist as admissions information updates.
Applications
186
Total received
Places Offered
85
Subscription Rate
2.2x
Apps per place
The strongest official signal in the available inspection grading profile is personal development, which was graded Outstanding at the last full inspection outcome attached to this provision. For infant-aged pupils, “personal development” is not an abstract concept. It is usually visible in how the school teaches pupils to behave kindly, how it supports friendships, and how it helps children build resilience after mistakes.
The school’s published enrichment structure also suggests a deliberate approach to wellbeing and broader development, including wellbeing ambassador work and structured personal development activities. In a well-run infant environment, this typically reduces low-level anxiety for pupils and helps parents too, because routines and expectations are easier to understand and reinforce at home.
Parents assessing pastoral care should ask two direct questions:
How the school supports pupils who struggle with separation anxiety or emotional regulation in Reception
How it communicates concerns early, including what “first response” support looks like before referrals or external services are considered
Clear answers here are often more valuable than general statements about being caring.
At infant age, enrichment works best when it is woven into weekly routines rather than treated as a bolt-on. The school’s published approach includes a menu of experiences intended to broaden horizons, including Forest School, Eco-School activity, Bikeability, themed weeks, and structured events and showcases.
Several named programmes give a clearer sense of identity than generic “clubs” lists. Examples include Riverview Choir, Riverview’s Got Talent, and Riverview11, framed as an “11 by 11” challenge. Even without a full term-by-term club register in accessible text, those named elements indicate a school trying to create a shared culture, with performance, participation, and aspiration built in from the early years.
The school also signals a “houses” element and a set of celebratory events (such as Golden Games and Golden Gala). In primary settings, this kind of structure often supports belonging, especially for pupils who are shy or new to the area, because it creates a ready-made team identity and repeated opportunities to contribute.
The published timings for EYFS and Key Stage 1 are clear: gate opens 8.40 to 8.50, registration at 8.50, and the day ends at 3.15.
Wraparound care is available. The published after-school care runs Monday to Friday until 6.00 pm, with session options including 3.15 pm to 4.30 pm and 3.15 pm to 6.00 pm. Costs are listed as £7 for a half session and £12 for a full session.
On travel and site practicalities, the school asks families not to arrive before gates open, and notes that parents and carers are not allowed to drive onto the school property without a special permit from the headteacher. For families planning mornings, that detail is useful because it shapes drop-off logistics, especially if you have siblings at multiple sites.
High demand for places. The Reception entry route is oversubscribed, with roughly 2.19 applications per place in the available demand data. If you are new to Kent admissions, prioritise getting your application in on time and understanding how preferences and criteria work.
Leadership titles can be confusing during the academy period. You may see both “Headteacher” and “Head of School” used in different contexts. It is sensible to ask who your main point of contact is for day-to-day issues, and how decisions flow between infant provision and the wider academy leadership.
Published open events can date quickly. The school has listed open events for Reception 2026, but these were scheduled mainly in the autumn and early January. Expect a similar seasonal pattern, and check the school’s current calendar for the next round.
Focus on the infant fundamentals. With infant settings, the best questions are often about phonics, early language, and how support is delivered when pupils struggle. Make sure the school’s approach fits your child’s temperament, particularly if your child needs extra reassurance or finds transitions hard.
Riverview Infant School suits families who want a structured, values-led start to primary education, with a clear daily rhythm and a visible emphasis on personal development. The most recent official inspection outcome attached to this provision is Good, with personal development graded Outstanding, which aligns well with an infant setting where confidence and social development underpin later learning.
Who it suits: children who benefit from predictable routines, clear expectations, and a school culture that explicitly teaches kindness and responsibility; families who value wraparound care options and want continuity into the wider primary phase on the same site. The main challenge is admissions demand, so planning and deadlines matter.
The most recent official inspection outcome attached to this provision is Good, with personal development graded Outstanding (inspection date 07 December 2021). For families, that points to a school that balances learning with strong attention to pupils’ wider development and readiness to learn.
Reception applications in Kent follow the local authority coordinated process. The key dates for September 2026 entry included a January closing date and offers released in mid-April. If you are applying for a future year, expect the same annual pattern and check the local authority timetable for the exact dates.
The Reception entry route is marked as oversubscribed in the available demand data, at a little over two applications per place. That suggests you should submit preferences carefully and treat deadlines as fixed.
For EYFS and Key Stage 1, the published timings include an 8.40 to 8.50 gate window, registration at 8.50, and a 3.15 finish. Families should plan drop-off around the gate window rather than arriving early.
Wraparound care is published, including after-school care that runs until 6.00 pm on weekdays, with session choices and published per-session costs. Breakfast club is also referenced, and parents are directed to the school’s booking system for places and details.
Get in touch with the school directly
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