Greatstone Primary School

Greatstone Primary School is a warm, supportive school where pupils generally behave well and feel safe. The early years provision is a notable strength, with a well-planned curriculum, positive relationships, effective phonics teaching and staff who know children's needs well. Parents value the caring staff and close-knit community, and pupils benefit from trusted relationships and effective pastoral support. However, over time pupils have not achieved well enough, with outcomes below national averages, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. Weaknesses in the previous curriculum mean early foundations are not built on securely as pupils move through the school, and assessment and adaptation are not consistently precise enough to address misconceptions quickly.

Strengths

• Early years curriculum is well planned and supports children's learning and development effectively
• Warm, supportive culture and very positive relationships across the school
• Phonics is taught well by confident, trained staff
• Staff know and anticipate children's needs in early years
• Pupils generally behave well and treat one another with kindness and respect
• Pastoral support is effective and pupils feel safe with trusted relationships
• Parents place trust in staff and value the school's caring community
• New leaders have an accurate understanding of strengths and weaknesses
• Staff feel valued and positive about the direction of the school
• Governors are aware of statutory duties and challenge leaders appropriately

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' outcomes over time are below national averages, including for pupils with SEND
• Curriculum weaknesses have left gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills
• Early foundations are not built on effectively enough as pupils move up the school
• Teaching activities are not consistently linked sharply enough to intended learning
• Assessment is not consistently precise enough to identify and remedy misconceptions rapidly
• Inclusion is not yet systematic and adaptations do not consistently help pupils access learning
• Attendance and persistent absence are above national averages
• Personal, social, health and economic education lacks a joined-up, coherent approach
• Governors need more specific, measurable outcomes to monitor impact robustly
• The pace of improvement has not been rapid 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 Greatstone Primary School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 26.3% 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 Greatstone 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 Greatstone Primary School had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.1% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Greatstone Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Greatstone Primary School received £7,784 and spent £8,003 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £189,000 (£900 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 Folkestone And Hythe · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Greatstone Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Greatstone Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Greatstone Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Greatstone Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Greatstone Primary School have?

Greatstone Primary School has 215 pupils on roll.

What age range does Greatstone Primary School cover?

Greatstone Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Greatstone Primary School?

Greatstone Primary School is at Baldwin Road, Greatstone, New Romney, Kent, TN28 8SY.