St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

Address: Wilman Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9AL Unique reference number (URN): 144836

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders’ work on attendance is having a positive impact. They analyse attendance information closely for groups and individuals. Leaders use this detailed analysis to identify patterns, including persistent absence. They put timely strategies and interventions in place. These actions generally improve pupils’ attendance across the school. Leaders address barriers to attendance in a supportive way and work constructively with external agencies. As a result of this consistent focus, attendance rates now match, or better, national averages. Where attendance has been weaker for some pupils or groups, leaders are securing improvement. This work is rigorous to ensure that gains are sustained over time.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils generally behave well. The school is calm, orderly and respectful. The new behaviour policy is valued by pupils and is applied consistently by most staff. Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and understand the school’s expectations. Incidents of poor behaviour, including bullying or racist language, are rare. When they occur, staff deal with them swiftly and proportionately. Pupils trust staff to act and feel safe to report concerns. This is supported by leaders’ meticulous record-keeping. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive appropriate adjustments and support. As a result, they access playtimes and social times alongside their peers and feel included in school life.

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Early years Expected standard

Children make a secure start in Reception. There is a well-considered and effective curriculum offer which is generally taught well. Staff have productive interactions with children and use talk well to support learning. They model and introduce well-chosen vocabulary during play and group activities. This helps children to develop their language skills and express their ideas, needs and feelings clearly. As a result, children grow in confidence. They build positive relationships with their peers and staff.

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Early years Expected standard

Reading is prioritised from the start. Children begin phonics promptly and develop secure early reading skills. This successfully supports their progress across the early years curriculum, including early mathematics. Children benefit from purposeful learning opportunities. Leaders have selected resources carefully, which children use productively. Staff know children’s starting points well and adapt learning to meet individual needs. The needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. Children with SEND and those who are disadvantaged receive appropriate support and make robust progress in the early years. Generally, children leave Reception well prepared for Year 1. Staff engage positively with parents and carers. They are kept well informed about their children's progress and achievements.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have created an inclusive culture where pupils feel known, valued and cared for. Staff identify and assess pupils' individual needs effectively. They also identify any barriers that pupils may face to their learning, including disadvantaged pupils and those known, or previously known, to children’s social care. Most staff receive training to help them provide the appropriate support that pupils need. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive well-chosen support. However, the support for disadvantaged pupils in classes is more variable, which means for a few pupils their needs are not successfully met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders take appropriate and proportionate decisions to reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing. They use strategic support, reasonable adjustments and thoughtful adaptations to help pupils access learning, play and enrichment activities. Pupils with additional needs benefit from well-considered provision. This strengthens their sense of belonging to the wider school community. Leaders make appropriate use of alternative provision and work constructively with external agencies.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have begun to monitor pupils’ progress and the impact of interventions. They review what works and adapt support to improve the school’s offer. This includes the impact of additional funding. Leaders’ work to improve attendance has been particularly successful for vulnerable pupils. This has increased pupils’ ability to engage consistently with support.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders at all levels show deep care for the school and its wider community. They understand the school’s strengths well and use their accurate evaluation to identify areas for improvement. Leaders generally prioritise actions clearly.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

School and trust leaders work effectively together. This strengthens the school's leadership capacity and supports them with making embedded improvements. Leaders place pupils at the centre of all decision-making. This is particularly evident in their work to support disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders make evidence-informed and appropriate choices, with the most vulnerable pupils in mind, while also considering the needs of the wider school community.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governance at school and trust level is generally effective. Those responsible meet their statutory duties securely and manage resources appropriately. Trustees and governors engage widely in training. This sharpens their skills and strengthens their strategic oversight. They know the school well and hold leaders to account through appropriate challenge and support. This contributes to continued improvement over time.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders engage positively with parents and carers. They build robust relationships that reflect a strong commitment to recognising and celebrating diversity. This engagement supports pupils well. Professional learning and development opportunities are linked to the school’s improvement priorities. It helps to build teachers’ expertise over time. This work is demonstrating improvement and has begun to have a positive impact in some areas. However, this remains an ongoing process. Leaders recognise the need for further development in staff expertise across the school. Leaders generally support staff wellbeing and manage workload carefully while continuing to move the school forward.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school celebrates its diversity. This contributes positively to pupils’ cultural development. Pupils and staff from a wide range of nationalities, cultures and spoken languages are brought together in this close and respectful community. Leaders provide frequent and well-

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Needs attention

chosen opportunities for pupils to reflect on beliefs, values and experiences. Pupils enjoy opportunities to debate and discuss wider ideas, such as current affairs and ethical issues, in an age-appropriate way. These experiences help them to become articulate and thoughtful. They make meaningful links between their lives in school and their engagement with the wider community. As a result, pupils develop mature and balanced views of the wider world and show respect for the views of others. This determined focus begins in the early years. In Reception, children are supported and encouraged to develop their social, emotional and communication skills through carefully planned play, discussion and shared activities. High-quality interaction is a consistent feature and this approach continues as pupils move through the school.

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Needs attention

The personal, social and health education curriculum is well sequenced and thoughtfully designed. Leaders adapt the programme in response to pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities generally access this curriculum well through appropriate support and adaptation. The school's relationships and health education programme meets statutory requirements and is sensitive to pupils’ age, maturity and beliefs. Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe, including online and offline risks to their wellbeing. This work helps pupils to learn about the fundamental British values. Pupils explain concepts such as democracy, individual liberty and respect. They link these to the school’s values of love, peace and integrity.

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Needs attention

The school offers a range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music and the arts. These opportunities reflect pupils’ interests and talents. Leaders make appropriate efforts to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are included. Pastoral support is effective.

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Achievement Needs attention

The achievement of disadvantaged pupils is variable. This is reflected in their attainment in national tests at the end of Year 6. While many pupils meet the expected standards overall, disadvantaged pupils do not achieve consistently well enough. Their work across the curriculum shows uneven progress. This is particularly evident in writing, where pupils' handwriting and spelling are inconsistent. Leaders recognise that this limits how well some pupils secure key knowledge and skills.

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Achievement Needs attention

Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not achieve as well as they should. Many have gaps in their learning which are not addressed well enough through day-to-day teaching. This hinders their progress and means that some pupils are not fully prepared for their next steps. Where the support for pupils with SEND is more targeted, it effectively helps them to make sufficient progress from their low starting points. Leaders are aware of these patterns and have begun work to improve consistency so that outcomes across groups and subjects are stronger.

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Achievement Needs attention

Recent improvements in teaching have supported better outcomes, for example in pupils’ mathematical fluency. As a result, more pupils are now reaching the expected standard for mathematical fluency in Year 4.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Gaps in some pupils’ knowledge are not identified and closed consistently well. This is because the checks that staff carry out on pupils’ learning do not identify misconceptions and errors precisely enough. Some pupils encounter barriers to learning and are not suitably prepared for the next stage of their education. For example, disadvantaged pupils have gaps in their fundamental knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s approach to teaching sets out clear expectations for meeting the needs of all pupils. However, this is not yet embedded consistently in the day-to-day experiences of all pupils. Leaders are aware of these areas for improvement and have taken action to address them. However, the impact of this work is not yet evident across all ages and subjects.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have set out an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum. They have a secure view of the strengths and weaknesses of this curriculum. Leaders have taken action to refine the sequencing of the curriculum. They are strengthening the checks that teachers carry out on pupils’ understanding. Leaders use ongoing professional learning to address gaps in aspects of teachers’ knowledge. This has led to some areas of effective practice. For example, in the teaching of phonics. Staff have the expertise they need to deliver the well-structured and sequenced reading curriculum. As a result, pupils benefit from focused teaching which is reflected in their reading skills.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils recognise that they belong to a caring and inclusive community. They speak with pride about the school’s diversity. One pupil explained that 'the differences between us help us to learn about the world'. This matters to them because many pupils come from different cultural backgrounds. Pupils enjoy positive relationships with staff and their peers. They feel included in daily school life. Pupils particularly enjoy activities that bring the community together. They speak enthusiastically about choral assemblies that bring the year groups together in celebration. Visits to the local Tunbridge Wells Museum also help them to feel a sense of context and community. These opportunities help to extend pupils' learning beyond the academic.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy their learning and the topics they study. They speak proudly about reading and enjoy the new books in school. Children in the Reception class benefit from changes to the outdoor area. They particularly enjoy the new sandpit which supports creative play and exploration. Most pupils feel they achieve well and believe that they are ready for future challenges. However, some pupils recognise that they do not feel as ready as others. This reflects the outcomes at the end of Year 6 in national assessments. Disadvantaged pupils do not always receive the support they need to overcome barriers effectively. This means that sometimes they miss opportunities to achieve as well as they could.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils generally feel safe and welcomed in school. They attend regularly and show respect for adults and for each other. Behaviour is calm and positive. Pupils report no significant concerns about bullying. They are confident that staff would act quickly and effectively if issues arose. Pupils develop a clear understanding of community and respect. Pupils' leadership opportunities and experiences meeting members of the emergency services prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff use assessment more effectively to inform future teaching and learning so that it helps pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, to embed key concepts and use knowledge fluently to develop their understanding. Leaders should ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make rapid progress to achieve well across the curriculum. Leaders should sustain the development of a coherent professional learning programme for all staff that builds collective expertise and enables expert teaching across all subjects and phases.

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About this inspection

This school is part of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Annemarie Whittle, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Caroline Stockmann.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with school leaders, parents, pupils and staff. They also spoke to leaders of the alternative education provision which the school uses.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Catholic religious character. It is part of the Diocese of Southwark. The school's last section 48 inspection was in October 2022.

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About this inspection

The school makes use of one unregistered alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2025.

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Team inspectors:

Louise Lythgoe, Ofsted Inspector Ulric Neblett-Leigh, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 56% 62% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 66% 61% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 81% 74% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 77% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 74% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 74% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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national average

2023/24 (final) 38% 46% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2022/23 (final) 67% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 4.8% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.4% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 13.7% 13.3% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 13.4% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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