Wittersham Church of England Primary School

Wittersham Church of England Primary School is a welcoming, highly nurturing school where pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. The school has a recently established nurture provision, ‘The Orchard’, which gives pupils a calm space and expert support to manage emotions and catch up on learning. Parents value the high-quality SEND support, and pupils are polite, kind and respectful, with positive relationships a real strength. The curriculum is ambitious and well resourced from the early years upwards, and reading is highly prioritised; children begin phonics in Reception and quickly become accurate, fluent readers. Behaviour is strong, pupils feel safe and heard, and leaders have a clear understanding of priorities and are considerate of staff workload. Governors provide effective challenge and support, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there has been a recent change in leadership, with the headteacher in post since February 2025 and acting since September 2024. There are still areas to improve. Sometimes the specific knowledge intended for pupils is not made clear, so activities do not always link closely enough to the learning. Systems for checking pupils’ understanding are not used consistently, meaning misconceptions can be missed and tasks are not always well matched to pupils’ starting points. Pupils’ understanding of wider diversity, including different cultures, is also not as well developed as it could be, although the school has begun to address this through curriculum planning and broader cultural experiences.

Strengths

• Welcoming and highly nurturing environment with strong pastoral support
• Pupils’ needs, including those with SEND, are very well understood and catered for
• The Orchard nurture provision provides expert support for emotional regulation and catch-up learning
• Pupils are polite, kind and respectful, and positive relationships are a real strength
• Ambitious curriculum and strong foundations from the early years upwards
• Reading is highly prioritised, with high-quality phonics and reading routines
• Pupils behave very well and attend regularly and punctually
• Pupils are well supported in understanding mental health and keeping safe
• Leaders have a clear understanding of priorities and are considerate of staff well-being
• Governors provide highly effective challenge and support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Intended learning is sometimes unclear, so activities do not consistently focus pupils on the most important knowledge
• Checks on pupils’ understanding are not used consistently, so misconceptions can be missed
• Tasks are not always well matched to pupils’ starting points, so some pupils are insufficiently challenged
• Pupils’ understanding of wider diversity, including different cultures, is not as well developed as it could be

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 Wittersham Church of England Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.8% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Wittersham 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 Wittersham Church of England Primary School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 40.7% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Wittersham Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Wittersham Church of England Primary School received £7,377 and spent £6,973 for each of its 138 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £103,000 (£744 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 Tenterden · Kent local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Wittersham Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

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

Wittersham Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

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

Wittersham Church of England Primary School has 138 pupils on roll.

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

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

What are Wittersham 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 Wittersham Church of England Primary School?

Wittersham Church of England Primary School is at The Street, Wittersham, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 7EA.