Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford

Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Dartford is a vibrant and inclusive primary where high expectations are matched by strong pupil outcomes. This graded inspection found the school good in all judged areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils work hard, behave well, feel safe and cared for, and benefit from warm relationships and an orderly environment. Reading is a particular strength, with systematic phonics and effective support for pupils who fall behind, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported to learn alongside their peers. The school offers a broad and ambitious curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6, enriched by outdoor learning, clubs, trips, culture day and community links such as the local care home. Staff feel valued and well supported, governors know the school well, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils are polite, attend well and take pride in roles such as play leaders and prefects. The main areas for improvement concern curriculum coherence and assessment. Some parts of the early years curriculum are not clearly linked to key stage 1, so children do not always build secure foundations for later learning. In some subjects, teachers do not check well enough what pupils remember, and they sometimes miss opportunities to address misconceptions or deepen thinking, which slows progress for some pupils.

Strengths

• Ambitious and broad curriculum across Years 1 to 6
• High expectations supported by strong pupil outcomes
• Reading is central, with systematic phonics and effective catch-up support
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and explain learning clearly
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well
• Sharp focus on technical and subject-specific vocabulary
• Pupils behave well, attend well and are polite and respectful
• Wide enrichment offer including outdoor learning, clubs, trips and culture day
• Staff feel valued and well supported by leaders
• Governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Early years curriculum is not cohesively linked to key stage 1 content
• Teachers do not always check what pupils remember well enough across subjects
• Some learning does not take account of pupils’ prior knowledge
• Teachers sometimes miss opportunities to address misconceptions or deepen pupils’ thinking

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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford attended 97.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.0% 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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford 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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford had 26.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 14.2% of pupils at Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford 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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford received £6,256 and spent £6,183 for each of its 219 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £54,000 (£248 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 Dartford · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford have?

Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford has 219 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford cover?

Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 85% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford?

Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Dartford is at King Edward Avenue, Dartford, Kent, DA1 2HX.