St Stephen's Infant School

St Stephen's Infant School has demonstrated a solid performance with an overall effectiveness rating of 'Good'. The school prioritizes the well-being and individual development of its pupils, fostering a warm and vibrant community where students feel safe and respected. The curriculum is thoughtfully structured, allowing for progressive learning from early years through to key stage one. The leadership, including the highly ambitious headteacher, supports both academic achievement and personal development through various extracurricular opportunities and inclusive practices. Notably, the school has only been operational since April 2021, making this its first scheduled inspection, and has adapted well to the challenges presented by recent educational disruptions.

Strengths

• Strong emphasis on pupils' emotional well-being and care.
• Well-structured curriculum that builds progressively on learning.
• Effective provision for pupils with special educational needs.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils promote a welcoming environment.
• Variety of extracurricular activities fosters engagement and learning.
• Innovative phonics program effectively supports early reading skills.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers occasionally struggle to assess prior knowledge in recently developed foundation subjects.
• Some lessons do not fully enable pupils to grasp the planned curriculum content.

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 Stephen's Infant School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.5% 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 Stephen's Infant 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 Stephen's Infant School had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.4% 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, 12.9% of pupils at St Stephen's Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 2023–24 St Stephen's Infant School received £6,512 and spent £6,228 for each of its 269 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £211,000 (£786 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Turner Schools, income was £7,678 and spending £7,576 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 Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Stephen's Infant School is part of Turner Schools, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Chartham Primary School Canterbury
• Dover Christ Church Academy Dover
• Turner Free School Folkestone
• Folkestone Academy Folkestone
• Folkestone Primary Folkestone
• Morehall Primary School and Nursery Folkestone
• Martello Primary Folkestone

What is St Stephen's Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Stephen's Infant School is Good, from an inspection in February 2024.

When was St Stephen's Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Stephen's Infant School was last inspected in February 2024.

How many pupils does St Stephen's Infant School have?

St Stephen's Infant School has 263 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Stephen's Infant School cover?

St Stephen's Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is St Stephen's Infant School?

St Stephen's Infant School is at Hales Drive, St Stephen's, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7AB.