Smarden Primary School

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 2-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Pluckley Road
Smarden
Ashford
Kent
TN27 8ND
Phone 01233770316
Reference Number 137529

Smarden Primary School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection. The school demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering high aspirations among its pupils, who thrive in a supportive and engaging learning environment. The curriculum is carefully designed to meet the needs and interests of all students, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils exhibit high levels of enthusiasm for learning, supported by effective teaching practices that enable them to build confidence and achieve academic success, particularly in reading. While the school showcases many strengths, there are areas for improvement particularly regarding consistent assessment strategies across all subjects. Notably, the transition of learning for children moving from Nursery to Reception needs better coordination to ensure thorough preparedness for the subsequent stages. This inspection provided valuable insights into the continuing journey of the school, emphasizing the importance of ongoing development to maintain and enhance educational standards.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 175
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 54.29%
Girls: 45.71%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 11.4%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.1%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 25
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 21.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 23.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 12 13 25
2 15 9 24
3 9 11 20
4 10 8 18
5 9 5 14
6 10 8 18

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 93.1%
White & Black (African) 1.7%
White, Other 1.1%
White & Asian 1.1%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.6%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 10 May 2023
Date Report
10 May 2023 School inspection
05 Dec 2017 Short inspection
14 Mar 2013 Full inspection:
14 Feb 2012 Academy conversion letter
14 Oct 2010 Full inspection:
Previously as Smarden Primary School
14 Oct 2010 Full inspection:
20 May 2008 Full inspection:
20 May 2008 Full inspection:
07 Feb 2005 Full inspection
07 Feb 2005 Full inspection

Strengths

  • High aspirations and ambition for all pupils
  • Engaging curriculum tailored to pupils' needs and interests
  • Strong support for early reading, resulting in confident readers
  • Effective safeguarding practices ensuring pupil safety
  • Strong emphasis on personal, social, health and economic education
  • High levels of pupil engagement and positive behavior

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistency in assessment strategies limiting learning progression
  • Transition planning from Nursery to Reception not fully effective

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 89%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 6%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 107
Maths 105

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 1.9
Writing 2.2
Maths 1.7

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Sample

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 19 0
Third Preference 13 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous Years

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Name Distance
Bethersden Primary School
School Road, Bethersden, Ashford, Kent, TN26 3AH
3 miles
Pluckley Church of England Primary School
The Street, Pluckley, Ashford, Kent, TN27 0QS
3.18 miles
John Mayne Church of England Primary School
High Street, Biddenden, Ashford, Kent, TN27 8AL
3.28 miles
Egerton Church of England Primary School
Stisted Way, Egerton, Ashford, Kent, TN27 9DR
3.32 miles
Headcorn Primary School
Kings Road, Headcorn, Kent, TN27 9QT
3.32 miles
High Halden Church of England Primary School
Church Hill, High Halden, Ashford, Kent, TN26 3JB
3.5 miles
St Michael's Church of England Primary School
Ashford Road, St Michael's, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 6PU
4.34 miles
Frittenden Church of England Primary School
Frittenden Primary School, Frittenden, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 2DD
4.41 miles
Ulcombe Church of England Primary School
The Street, Ulcombe, Maidstone, Kent, ME17 1DU
4.6 miles
Name Distance
Greenfields School
Tenterden Road, Biddenden, Ashford, Kent, TN27 8BE
3.61 miles
Little Acorns School
London Beach Farm, Ashford Road, St Michael's, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 6SR
3.77 miles
Heath Farm School
Egerton Road, Charing Heath, Ashford, Kent, TN27 0AX
4.91 miles
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