Kennington Church of England Academy

Kennington Church of England Academy continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school during its first ungraded inspection since 2017. The school fosters a strong community atmosphere, evident through the supportive relationships among staff and pupils. Pupils express pride in their school and actively embody its core values. The curriculum is ambitious, especially in core subjects like reading and mathematics, ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs, can progress effectively.

Strengths

• Strong sense of community among staff and pupils.
• High expectations for pupil behavior and settled learning environment.
• Effective teaching of reading with daily guided sessions.
• Ambitious curriculum planning for all pupils.
• Well-considered personal, social, health and economic curriculum.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment practices not well embedded in some foundation subjects.
• Some processes create unnecessary workload for staff.

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 Kennington Church of England Academy attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.5% 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 Kennington Church of England Academy 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 Kennington Church of England Academy had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 18.9% of pupils at Kennington Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Kennington Church of England Academy received £6,003 and spent £6,047 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £688,000 (£1,928 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, income was £7,245 and spending £7,113 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

Kennington Church of England Academy is part of The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Downs View Infant School Ashford
• Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School Ashford
• Charing Church of England Primary School Ashford
• St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School Faversham
• Brenzett Church of England Primary School Romney Marsh
• All Soul's Church of England Primary School Folkestone
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy New Romney
• St. Clement's CofE Primary School Sheerness
• Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School Dover
• Eastchurch Church of England Primary School Sheerness

What is Kennington Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kennington Church of England Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Kennington Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Kennington Church of England Academy was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Kennington Church of England Academy have?

Kennington Church of England Academy has 355 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kennington Church of England Academy cover?

Kennington Church of England Academy for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Kennington Church of England Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kennington Church of England Academy?

Kennington Church of England Academy is at Upper Vicarage Road, Kennington, Ashford, Kent, TN24 9AG.