Charing Church of England Primary School

Charing Church of England Primary School demonstrates strong overall performance across various domains, showcasing an ambition for excellence and a commitment to pupil well-being. The school has made significant strides in safeguarding and creates a supportive and open environment where pupils feel safe and valued. The curriculum is ambitious and well-designed, enabling pupils to progress confidently with well-defined skills in key areas such as reading and writing. Although attendance remains a challenge due to high mobility among pupils, leaders are proactive in their efforts to enhance attendance.

Strengths

• Pupils progress confidently through the curriculum.
• High-quality interactions with staff in early years.
• Strong performance in national tests, outperforming national averages.
• Curriculum is well sequenced and ambitions for pupil skill development.
• Excellent support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance is not yet at national averages, though it is improving.

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 Charing Church of England Primary School attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 29.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Charing 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 Charing Church of England Primary School had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.9% 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, 29.6% of pupils at Charing Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Charing Church of England Primary School received £7,539 and spent £7,350 for each of its 169 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £136,000 (£805 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

Charing Church of England Primary School is part of The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Kennington Church of England Academy Ashford
• Downs View Infant School Ashford
• Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School Ashford
• St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School Faversham
• Archbishop Courtenay Primary School Maidstone
• St. Clement's CofE Primary School Sheerness
• Eastchurch Church of England Primary School Sheerness
• Brenzett Church of England Primary School Romney Marsh
• St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School Sheerness
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy New Romney

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Charing Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

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

Charing Church of England Primary School was last inspected in April 2026.

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

Charing Church of England Primary School has 199 pupils on roll.

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

Charing Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 93% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Charing Church of England Primary School?

Charing Church of England Primary School is at School Road, Charing, Ashford, Kent, TN27 0JN.