River Primary School

River Primary School is a friendly, inclusive school where pupils are proud of their community and generally achieve well. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, reading is a high priority from Reception, and pupils benefit from strong phonics teaching, effective catch-up support, and a wide range of enriching trips and experiences. The school identifies SEND effectively, including through its specialist resourced provision for speech and language needs, and recent work to strengthen mathematics teaching has had a positive impact. Leaders, governors and staff are passionate and have a clear understanding of strengths and development areas. Safeguarding is effective, and staff value the support and training they receive. However, the school does not consistently ensure all pupils acquire foundational English skills, particularly handwriting, which can slow older pupils’ writing and thinking. Academic ambition for pupils with SEND is not yet consistently realised because some staff do not adapt the curriculum well enough. Behaviour is generally positive, but staff are not always quick or consistent in addressing inattentive behaviour in lessons and boisterous play on the playground. This was the school’s first routine inspection since before the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, when it was judged outstanding and exempt from routine inspection. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. The school is part of a federation and currently has acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher arrangements in place.

Strengths

• Friendly and inclusive ethos where pupils feel valued and accepted
• Broad and ambitious curriculum, including a well-planned Reception curriculum
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with effective catch-up support
• Positive reading culture with regular storytime and enthusiastic readers
• Effective identification of SEND and specialist speech and language support
• Engaging teaching and successful training, particularly in mathematics
• Effective support for pupils who struggle with behavioural expectations
• Rich trips, experiences and leadership opportunities for pupils
• Passionate leadership and governance with clear oversight and staff support
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting is not taught effectively to all pupils, slowing some older pupils’ writing
• Some staff do not consistently adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with SEND
• Staff are not consistently quick enough to address inattentive behaviour in lessons
• Boisterous playground behaviour is not always noticed and addressed well enough

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at River Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at River Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 River Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.9% of pupils at River Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 5 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 River Primary School received £6,712 and spent £6,708 for each of its 384 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £229,000 (£597 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dover · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is River Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for River Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was River Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

River Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does River Primary School have?

River Primary School has 384 pupils on roll.

What age range does River Primary School cover?

River Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are River Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is River Primary School?

River Primary School is at Lewisham Road, River, Dover, Kent, CT17 0PP.