St Peter's Catholic Primary School

St Peter's Catholic Primary School has shown a commendable performance in its first inspection, achieving an overall effectiveness rating of good. The school takes pride in fostering a safe and nurturing environment where pupils thrive, exhibiting strong motivation towards learning. With a clear vision from its leadership and a strong Catholic ethos, the school supports all pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special educational needs. The recent changes in leadership have been effectively integrated, maintaining the school's positive trajectory and community support.

Strengths

• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes among pupils.
• High levels of motivation and engagement in learning.
• Supportive and positive relationships between staff and pupils.
• Strong curriculum planning that meets pupils' needs effectively.
• Effective identification and support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Strong personal development linked to the Catholic ethos.
• Well-established reading programme with ongoing staff training.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent delivery of the phonics programme affecting some pupils' reading development.

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 Peter's Catholic Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.3% 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 St Peter'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 Peter's Catholic Primary School had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.0% 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, 9.0% of pupils at St Peter's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Peter's Catholic Primary School received £6,111 and spent £5,781 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £132,000 (£634 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 Sittingbourne · Kent local authority: places and applications

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

• St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School Gillingham
• St Edward's Catholic Primary School Sheerness
• St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Chatham
• St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School Chatham
• St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery School Chatham
• The Holy Family Catholic Primary School Maidstone
• St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary School Rochester
• St Simon Stock Catholic School Maidstone
• St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone Maidstone
• English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School Rochester

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Peter's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

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

St Peter's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in March 2024.

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

St Peter's Catholic Primary School has 210 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Peter's Catholic Primary School?

St Peter's Catholic Primary School is at West Ridge, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1UJ.