Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School

Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School is a small, caring village school where pupils feel safe and well supported. The early years provision and personal development programme are strengths: children get off to a strong start, and pupils learn to respect others and take on responsibilities. Safeguarding standards are met. However, the school is not yet performing to the expected standard across several key areas. Too many pupils leave key stage 2 without secure knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics, and this is particularly true for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Persistent absence is well above the national average, and the school's systems for tracking and improving attendance are not robust enough. Some pupils with SEND do not receive precise support, and teaching is not consistently adapted to help all pupils build essential knowledge before moving on.

Strengths

• Children in early years make a strong start and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Pupils feel safe and bullying is rare.
• Staff care deeply for pupils and build warm relationships.
• The personal development programme teaches pupils to respect others and understand British values.
• Pupils enjoy leadership roles and benefit from clubs, trips and visits.
• Leaders are reflective and have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.
• Parents speak highly of the school and feel listened to.
• Staff value the support they receive from leaders and appreciate the focus on workload and wellbeing.
• Pupils achieve well in the phonics screening check.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 is not good enough, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
• Teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge before moving on.
• Support for pupils with SEND is not planned or implemented precisely enough; targets are too broad and some staff lack the skills to adapt teaching.
• Teaching is not consistently adapted to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils in class.
• The strategic leadership of attendance is not yet effective, and persistent absence remains too high.
• Leaders' systems and processes for monitoring and evaluating improvement are not robust enough.
• The impact of staff training is not yet monitored or evaluated effectively.
• Recent curriculum changes are not fully embedded, and some teaching approaches are not applied consistently.
• Some pupils become disengaged when activities are not well matched to their needs.

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 Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School attended 92.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.4% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Chilham, St Mary's Church of England 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 Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School had 13.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 24.7% of pupils at Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School received £9,680 and spent £9,413 for each of its 81 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £55,000 (£673 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).

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What is Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School have?

Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School has 81 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School cover?

Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School?

Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School is at School Hill, Chilham, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 8DE.