St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles

St Mark's Church of England Primary School is a small, inclusive school with a warm and caring ethos. Inspectors found that safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, behave very well and have positive relationships with staff. Early years provision is a clear strength: the curriculum is ambitious, staff support language and emotional development well, and children are ready for Year 1. Inclusion is also effective, with pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils participating fully and receiving personalised support. However, the school's overall effectiveness is uneven. Achievement is not consistently good, and some pupils, including those with SEND, are below national standards. Published outcomes show weaker mathematics and some reading and writing concerns, and the impact of recent phonics changes is not yet clear. Teaching quality varies, checking for understanding is inconsistent, and tasks are not always adapted to pupils' starting points, so misconceptions and knowledge gaps persist. Attendance is a significant concern for vulnerable pupils and those with SEND, and leaders' actions have not yet had enough impact. The school is part of The Pilgrim Multi Academy Trust and has a Christian character. Leaders and governance understand the priorities and have begun curriculum and teaching improvements, but these are at an early stage and leaders do not yet evaluate impact accurately. Parents' views are mixed, with some appreciating staff care but others raising concerns about communication and engagement.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Early years curriculum is ambitious and delivered effectively.
• Early years staff develop children's language, communication and emotional development well.
• Phonics teaching in early years helps children read and write simple words.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils participate fully and are well supported.
• Staff know pupils well and provide personalised support, including effective interventions.
• Personal development programme is coherent and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils understand healthy relationships, safety and equality.
• Pupils behave very positively; classrooms and social spaces are calm and orderly.
• Pupils are polite, kind, respectful and show excellent attitudes to learning.
• Pupils benefit from trips, enrichment activities and extensive outdoor spaces.
• Staff value professional learning and leaders consider staff workload and wellbeing.
• Governance provides support and challenge and ensures resources align with priorities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve consistently well; some pupils, including those with SEND, are below national standards.
• Published outcomes in mathematics are below national averages and disadvantaged pupils' gaps are wide.
• Phonics results dipped, and the revised programme's impact is not yet visible.
• Pupils lack fluency with number facts and place value, leaving them less prepared for next steps.
• Knowledge and recall are inconsistent across the wider curriculum.
• Teaching effectiveness varies, and leaders do not have an accurate view of teaching quality.
• Staff do not sufficiently check pupils' understanding, so mistakes and misconceptions are repeated.
• Tasks are not routinely adapted to pupils' starting points, making work too easy or too challenging.
• Curriculum and teaching changes are in early stages and their impact is not visible in pupils' work.
• Vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND, do not attend school frequently enough.
• Leaders' actions to improve attendance have not been systematic enough to show positive impact.
• Leaders do not evaluate the impact of their work with enough accuracy.
• Improvements have not yet led to effective practice across the school or sustained outcomes.
• Some parents raise concerns about timely communication and inconsistent engagement.
• Early years outcomes are not yet consistently above national expectations.

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 Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.5% 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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles 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 Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles had 13.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 21.1% of pupils at St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles received £8,655 and spent £7,820 for each of its 118 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £148,000 (£1,263 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of The Pilgrim Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,077 and spending £6,915 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 Aylesford · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles is part of The Pilgrim Multi Academy Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery) Rochester
• St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Rochester
• Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School Rochester

What is St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles have?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles has 109 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles cover?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles is at Eccles Row, Eccles, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 7HS.