Borden Church of England Primary School

Borden Church of England Primary School is a happy, welcoming and high-performing school where strong nurturing relationships and a values-led culture help pupils feel safe and valued. Pupils behave exceptionally well, including during social times, and they show kindness and respect for one another. The school has high expectations and pupils, including those with SEND, achieve very well, particularly in English and mathematics. Reading is central to the curriculum, and children begin learning to read as soon as they join Reception. The early years, personal development and behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, while the quality of education and leadership and management are good. The curriculum is well sequenced and teachers present content clearly. Pupils develop ambitious vocabulary, and staff identify and support pupils with SEND effectively. Personal development is exceptional: pupils learn how to become agents of change, take part in community projects and develop a strong understanding of safety, finance and citizenship. The trust and local monitoring council know the school well, and staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive. The main area for improvement is phonics assessment. On a few occasions, staff do not check pupils’ phonics knowledge promptly enough, which means some pupils do not get support quickly enough and gaps in their learning can hamper progress. Safeguarding is effective. This was a graded inspection, and under the framework applying from September 2024 the school did not receive an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, welcoming and show kindness and respect to others.
• Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, with exemplary conduct during social times.
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve very well, especially in English and mathematics.
• The curriculum is well sequenced and builds pupils’ knowledge over time.
• Reading is at the heart of the curriculum and children start learning to read in Reception.
• Staff have received effective phonics training and teach reading consistently.
• Teachers model ambitious vocabulary that pupils use independently.
• Personal development is exceptional, with pupils engaged in community action and citizenship.
• Early years provision is outstanding, with calm routines and strong adult modelling.
• The trust and local monitoring council know the school well, and staff value the support they receive.

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics knowledge is not always checked and acted upon promptly, so some pupils receive delayed support and gaps in learning can hamper progress.

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 Borden Church of England Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.5% 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 Borden 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 Borden Church of England Primary School had 20.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.6% 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, 15.2% of pupils at Borden Church of England Primary School 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 Borden Church of England Primary School received £7,901 and spent £7,498 for each of its 124 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £52,000 (£420 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Our Community Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,845 and spending £7,701 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

Borden Church of England Primary School is part of Our Community Multi Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Minterne Junior School Sittingbourne
• The Oaks Infant School Sittingbourne
• Bredgar Church of England Primary School Sittingbourne
• Milstead and Frinsted Church of England Primary School Sittingbourne
• Lynsted and Norton Primary School Sittingbourne
• Selling Church of England Primary School Faversham
• Petham Primary School Canterbury
• Dymchurch Primary School Romney Marsh
• Lydd Primary School Romney Marsh

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Borden Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

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

Borden Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

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

Borden Church of England Primary School has 138 pupils on roll.

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

Borden Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 94% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Borden Church of England Primary School?

Borden Church of England Primary School is at School Lane, Borden, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8JS.