Adisham Church of England Primary School

Adisham Church of England Primary School is a small voluntary aided primary in The Stour Academy Trust, with 102 pupils and above-average proportions of pupils with SEN support and EHC plans. Inspectors found it performing very well overall: inclusion was exceptional, and achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing were all strong. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils achieve highly from their starting points, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and the school is known locally and nationally for its inclusive practice. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, teaching is strong, early years provision is highly effective, behaviour and attendance are strong, and leadership and governance are rigorous. Personal development is broad and well tailored. The inspection did not identify any domains requiring attention or urgent improvement, and no next steps are set out. Published data does show some below-national outcomes and a disadvantage gap for disadvantaged pupils in combined reading, writing and mathematics and in writing, although cohorts are small and some data are suppressed; the report's narrative emphasises strong progress from starting points and exceptionally tailored support.

Strengths

• Exceptional inclusion practice recognised locally and nationally.
• Highly effective support for vulnerable pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Strong pupil achievement from starting points, with phonics and Year 6 outcomes above national averages.
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum with a strong focus on language development.
• Expert teaching that adapts well and addresses misconceptions quickly.
• Highly effective early years provision with strong parent partnerships and a well-designed environment.
• High expectations and consistently positive behaviour, with bullying extremely rare and dealt with quickly.
• Attendance rates above the national average due to effective work to reduce barriers.
• Rigorous leadership and governance with systematic review and trust-wide sharing of practice.
• Broad personal development programme with careers activity, leadership roles, clubs and British values.
• Strong safeguarding culture in which pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in combined reading, writing and mathematics and in writing are below national averages, with a wide disadvantage gap.

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 Adisham Church of England Primary School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.4% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Adisham 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 Adisham 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, 27.6% 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, 19.8% of pupils at Adisham Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 Adisham Church of England Primary School received £8,474 and spent £7,826 for each of its 102 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£822 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Stour Academy Trust, income was £7,419 and spending £7,111 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 Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

Adisham Church of England Primary School is part of The Stour Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Sturry Church of England Primary School Canterbury
• Water Meadows Primary School Canterbury
• St Crispin's Infant School Westgate-On-Sea
• Finberry Primary School Ashford
• Chilmington Green Primary School Ashford
• Lansdowne Primary School Sittingbourne
• Thistle Hill Primary School Sheerness
• Richmond Primary School Sheerness

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Adisham Church of England Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

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

Adisham Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

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

Adisham Church of England Primary School has 101 pupils on roll.

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

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

What are Adisham Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Adisham Church of England Primary School?

Adisham Church of England Primary School is at The Street, Adisham, Canterbury, Kent, CT3 3JW.