Bodsham Church of England Primary School

Bodsham Church of England Primary School is a small village school where pupils feel known, safe and included. Inspectors found particular strength in the early years and in pupils' personal development and wellbeing: children get a strong start, behaviour is positive, and the wider curriculum and enrichment help pupils become confident, articulate and thoughtful. Pupils achieve well overall, especially in reading, and most leave Year 6 with attainment above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. The school's curriculum is coherent and teaching is generally secure, with effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Safeguarding standards are met. However, several aspects of leadership and monitoring need attention. Attendance leadership is not currently effective, with monitoring not systematic enough to evaluate impact or respond swiftly to absence patterns. Governors' oversight of safeguarding lacks sufficient rigour, and leaders do not always have a precise view of the impact of their work. These weaknesses are set against a context of significant change and reduced leadership capacity, including an acting headteacher who took up post in January 2026; leaders have made difficult decisions to secure long-term sustainability, and staff and parents remain highly positive. Other improvement points include inconsistent recording of inclusion and progress reviews, variable quality of pupils' written work including handwriting in older year groups, and the need for consistently high expectations for presentation across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Strong early years provision gets children off to a successful start.
• Phonics is taught well, helping children develop early writing and spelling.
• Reception children develop a rich vocabulary and strong number skills.
• The early years environment is nurturing and promotes independence, creativity and positive relationships.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is extensive, well led and has a significant positive impact.
• Pupils are confident, articulate and respectful in discussions about beliefs, abilities and relationships.
• Pupils benefit from an impressive range of creative, musical and cultural experiences.
• Pupils understand how to keep safe and healthy, including online.
• Pupils achieve well in national tests, with reading, writing and mathematics above average over time.
• Reading outcomes are especially high at expected and higher standards.
• The curriculum is coherent, carefully sequenced and clear about the knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils need.
• Teaching typically shows secure subject knowledge and effective questioning.
• Support and adaptations are well matched to pupils' needs, including those with SEND.
• The school has a clear, inclusive culture and identifies pupils' needs effectively.
• Behaviour is consistently positive, relationships are harmonious and bullying is rare.
• Pupils develop a deep sense of belonging and welcome new pupils quickly.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive and staff feel valued and well supported.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Leadership of attendance is not currently effective.
• Attendance monitoring and oversight are not systematic enough to evaluate impact or respond swiftly to absence patterns.
• Governors do not have a secure understanding of the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements, including safer recruitment.
• Governors' monitoring does not ensure identified actions are followed through consistently.
• Leaders do not always have a precise view of the impact of their work, particularly in attendance.
• Formal recording of inclusion and progress reviews is inconsistent, limiting precise evaluation of provision over time.
• The quality of pupils' work, including handwriting in older year groups, is variable.
• Pupils do not consistently produce detailed or well-presented work in some subjects.
• Staff need to embed consistently high expectations for handwriting across the curriculum.

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 Bodsham Church of England Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Bodsham 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 Bodsham Church of England Primary School had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 12.9% of pupils at Bodsham Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Bodsham Church of England Primary School received £9,702 and spent £9,294 for each of its 70 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £79,000 (£1,123 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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All schools in Ashford · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Bodsham Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bodsham Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Bodsham Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bodsham Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Bodsham Church of England Primary School have?

Bodsham Church of England Primary School has 70 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bodsham Church of England Primary School cover?

Bodsham Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Bodsham Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bodsham Church of England Primary School?

Bodsham Church of England Primary School is at School Hill, Bodsham, Ashford, Kent, TN25 5JQ.