Eastchurch Church of England Primary School

Eastchurch Church of England Primary School is a small school within the Aquila, The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust. It has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and a well-above-average proportion of pupils with SEN support, in an area of above-average deprivation. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2024, and while leadership has now stabilised, recent staffing turbulence has slowed improvement. Safeguarding standards are met. Published outcomes have been below national averages over time, and the inspection found that achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing all need further attention. However, leaders have an accurate view of priorities and appropriate improvement actions are in place. Notable strengths include strengthened behaviour systems, calmer and respectful environments, warm staff-pupil relationships, and early improvements in reading at key stage 2. Phonics is taught well in the early years, children feel safe and settle quickly, and support for pupils' social and emotional wellbeing is having a positive effect. Trustees and local governors provide effective oversight, staff value leaders' support, and pupils benefit from enrichment opportunities and wellbeing support. Leaders have also improved attendance tracking and are working more proactively with families and external agencies. Key concerns remain the inconsistent quality of teaching and curriculum implementation, large historic gaps for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and weak attendance with high persistent absence. Too many pupils do not remember important learning or write accurately and fluently, and some are not well prepared for the next stage. Early years practice is inconsistent, personal development is not implemented consistently, and older pupils' understanding of British values and religions is limited. Leaders now need to embed recent improvements, particularly in attendance, teaching consistency, writing, PSHE, and partnership with parents.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Behaviour systems have been significantly strengthened, creating calm and respectful environments.
• Pupils are polite, respectful and welcoming, with warm staff-pupil relationships.
• Reading attainment at key stage 2 has improved.
• Phonics is taught well in the early years.
• Early years children settle quickly and benefit from caring relationships and established routines.
• Support for pupils' social and emotional wellbeing is having a positive effect.
• Work with external agencies is becoming more proactive and helps pupils access specialist help.
• Trustees and local governors provide thorough oversight and effective challenge and support.
• Leaders are considerate of staff workload and wellbeing, and staff value the support they receive.
• Pupils benefit from enrichment activities, including cultural experiences and councillor roles.
• Leaders know what needs to be done and make decisions in pupils' best interests.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes have been below national averages over time.
• Achievement remains an area of focus, with historic gaps affecting disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Many pupils are not well prepared for the next stages of education.
• Pupils do not remember important learning and make errors in basic grammar and spelling.
• Attendance is below national averages, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Persistent absence is well above national levels.
• Behaviour systems are improving but work is ongoing, including pupils' confidence when learning is difficult.
• Curriculum and teaching quality vary across the school, and recent improvements are not fully developed.
• Expectations are not high enough where teaching is less effective.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding well enough to prevent errors.
• Adaptations for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are not effective in reducing barriers to learning.
• Opportunities to practise reading, writing and mathematics across subjects are limited.
• Early years children do not build securely on focused sessions during independent play.
• Early years staff interactions are not always high quality, and misconceptions are sometimes overlooked.
• Some children are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they should be.
• The school does not apply a consistent approach to identify, assess and meet pupils' individual needs.
• Support for pupils with additional needs is varied, and practice remains uneven.
• Leaders' understanding of how well actions improve achievement for disadvantaged pupils is at an early stage.
• Staffing turbulence has slowed the pace of improvement.
• Professional learning has not consistently led to sustained improvements in classroom practice.
• Communication with and involvement of parents is not yet effective in securing confidence in the school's direction.
• The personal development programme is not implemented consistently.
• Older pupils have a limited understanding of fundamental British values and different religions and beliefs.
• Pupils have superficial understanding of important personal development knowledge.
• Some pupils leave without the knowledge and skills needed for life in modern Britain and their next steps.

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 Eastchurch Church of England Primary School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 30.6% 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, 5.6% of pupils at Eastchurch 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 Eastchurch Church of England Primary School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.9% 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, 29.3% of pupils at Eastchurch 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 Eastchurch Church of England Primary School received £8,198 and spent £8,112 for each of its 142 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £72,000 (£504 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 Sheerness · Kent local authority: places and applications

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

• St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School Sheerness
• St. Clement's CofE Primary School Sheerness
• St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School Faversham
• Charing Church of England Primary School Ashford
• Reculver Church of England Primary School Herne Bay
• Downs View Infant School Ashford
• Kennington Church of England Academy Ashford
• Archbishop Courtenay Primary School Maidstone
• Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School Ashford
• Sandwich Infant School Sandwich

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Eastchurch Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

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

Eastchurch Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

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

Eastchurch Church of England Primary School has 164 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 25% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Eastchurch Church of England Primary School?

Eastchurch Church of England Primary School is at Warden Road, Eastchurch, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 4EJ.