St Edward's Catholic Primary School

St Edward’s Catholic Primary School is a small, close-knit Catholic primary in Sheerness and part of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership. Inspectors found much to praise: children get an exceptionally strong start in Reception, behaviour and personal development are strong, and leadership, trust support and safeguarding are effective. Pupils feel safe, are kind and inclusive, and love reading; home reading has tripled and phonics is effective. The school is working successfully to address previous underachievement, with well-supported new leaders and informed governors and trustees. However, the quality of education requires improvement. The curriculum is planned and staff are well trained, but checks on what pupils know and understand are not consistently precise. As a result, some gaps in learning are not identified and addressed quickly enough, and pupils do not always develop the depth of understanding needed for the next stage. Published key stage 2 outcomes have not matched the school’s ambition, compounded by pandemic-related gaps. The main improvement priority is to ensure staff consistently teach the planned curriculum and routinely check pupils’ understanding, using that information to adapt teaching. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, the headteacher joined in September 2024, and the school serves a deprived area. Safeguarding is effective.

Strengths

• Exceptionally strong start in Reception, with expert support for language, early reading and mathematics
• All children, including those with SEND, achieve equally well in the early years
• Pupils are respectful, kind, inclusive and focused, with little disruption
• Pupils love reading, supported by effective phonics and tripled home reading
• Curriculum is well sequenced and staff receive meaningful professional development
• Strong Catholic vision and values, with trips and leadership roles broadening pupils’ horizons
• Effective attendance approach and support for disadvantaged pupils
• Leaders, governors and trustees are well informed and provide strong support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Pupils’ physical and mental health are effectively promoted

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not consistently check pupils’ understanding of key content precisely enough
• Some learning gaps are not identified and addressed swiftly, limiting depth of understanding
• Pupils’ previous key stage 2 published outcomes do not match the school’s ambition
• Teaching of the planned curriculum is not yet consistently effective across all subjects

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 Edward's Catholic Primary School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.2% 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, 4.0% of pupils at St Edward's Catholic 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 St Edward's Catholic Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 29.3% of pupils at St Edward's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 Edward's Catholic Primary School received £8,085 and spent £7,627 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £407,000 (£2,016 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 Sheerness · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Edward's Catholic Primary School is part of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's Catholic Primary School Sittingbourne
• St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School Gillingham
• St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School Chatham
• English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School Rochester
• St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Chatham
• St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School Chatham
• St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary School Rochester
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Whitstable
• St John's Catholic Primary School, Gravesend Gravesend
• St Simon Stock Catholic School Maidstone

What is St Edward's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Edward's Catholic Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Edward's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Edward's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Edward's Catholic Primary School have?

St Edward's Catholic Primary School has 198 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Edward's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Edward's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Edward's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is St Edward's Catholic Primary School?

St Edward's Catholic Primary School is at New Road, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 1BW.