St Botolph's Church of England Primary School

St Botolph’s Church of England Primary School continues to demonstrate good performance in its educational offerings and community engagement. The school fosters a strong community ethos, with leaders setting high expectations for pupils, who show enthusiasm for learning and respect for one another. The early years program is well-structured, and pupils generally achieve well across the curriculum, which is ambitious and engaging. However, the report highlights that there are some areas where curriculum implementation is inconsistent, particularly in newly developed subjects, affecting the overall confidence of some teachers in delivering those lessons. While the overall feedback is positive, with strong parent support and effective strategies in place for reading and safeguarding, the school has been noted to focus on improving teaching consistency across all subjects. Leaders are urged to ensure that all areas of the curriculum are taught well so that pupils can build on their prior knowledge more effectively. This inspection marks the first routine evaluation of the school since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential insights into its current educational landscape.

Strengths

• Strong community ethos and high expectations set by leaders.
• Pupils show enthusiasm and respect in their learning environment.
• Well-structured early years program that prepares children well for Year 1.
• Effective strategies for teaching early reading, ensuring pupils read with fluency.
• Commitment from staff who are appreciative of training and support.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in teacher confidence in some newly developed curriculum subjects.
• Need for better planning in areas where the curriculum is not fully embedded.

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 Botolph's Church of England Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.8% 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, 1.4% of pupils at St Botolph's 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 St Botolph's Church of England Primary School had 23.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.6% 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, 12.8% of pupils at St Botolph's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 St Botolph's Church of England Primary School received £6,175 and spent £6,171 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £353,000 (£839 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Aletheia Academies Trust, income was £5,972 and spending £6,275 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 Gravesend · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Botolph's Church of England Primary School is part of Aletheia Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Rosherville Church of England Academy Gravesend
• Saint George's Church of England School Gravesend
• Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Gravesend
• Whitehill Primary School Gravesend
• Gravesend Grammar School Gravesend
• Sedley's Church of England Primary School Gravesend
• Alkerden Church of England Academy Ebbsfleet Valley
• Stone St Mary's CofE Primary School Greenhithe
• Shorne Church of England Primary School Gravesend
• Sutton-At-Hone Church of England Primary School Dartford

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Botolph's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was St Botolph's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Botolph's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does St Botolph's Church of England Primary School have?

St Botolph's Church of England Primary School has 422 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Botolph's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Botolph's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Botolph's Church of England Primary School?

St Botolph's Church of England Primary School is at Dover Road, Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 9PL.