St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford, was inspected on 1 and 2 July 2025. The school, part of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership, was previously judged to require improvement, but this inspection found it to be good in all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. As this was a graded inspection from September 2024 onwards, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Inclusive, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, happy and welcome
• Broad, ambitious curriculum with high expectations and strong support for pupils with SEND
• Early reading and phonics are prioritised, with effective catch-up support and support for new arrivals and pupils with English as an additional language
• Pupils behave well in a calm environment, and staff deal promptly with unkindness, bullying and low-level disruption
• Personal development is strong through the 'Ten for Ten' programme, leadership opportunities, British values and wider talents
• Leaders have a clear vision, and trust and governance provide effective support and challenge
• Staff value the trust's continuing professional development and leaders' consideration of workload and wellbeing
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some inconsistency in how well teachers check pupils' understanding before moving learning on
• Misconceptions or errors in pupils' work are not always picked up swiftly enough
• Teachers need to use systematic checks to identify learning gaps and adapt teaching accordingly

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 St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 0.5% of pupils at St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford 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 St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 15.4% of pupils at St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford 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 2024–25 St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford received £6,383 and spent £6,176 for each of its 212 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £85,000 (£401 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, income was £6,963 and spending £6,776 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Ashford · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford is part of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Ashford
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Hythe
• St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury Canterbury
• Stella Maris Catholic Primary School Folkestone
• St Peter's Catholic Primary School Sittingbourne
• The Holy Family Catholic Primary School Maidstone
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham Canterbury
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Whitstable
• St Simon Stock Catholic School Maidstone
• St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone Maidstone

What is St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford last inspected by Ofsted?

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford have?

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford has 208 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford cover?

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford?

St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford is at Noakes Meadow, Ashford, Kent, TN23 4RB.