The Downs Church of England Primary School

Dover · CT14 7TL

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 316 pupils, 35.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13% on SEN support Behaviour 6.0% absence rate Staff 14.6% turnover Financials £6,855 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Downs Church of England Primary School

General Information

Address: Owen Square, Walmer, Deal, CT14 7TL – View on map
Phone: 01304372486
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Natalie Luxford
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 40 families put it first for 40 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

316 pupils out of 420 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 113
% eligible for free school meals: 35.8%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Dover average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14.6% a year (Dover 13.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 45% moved to another school, 55% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Kent: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 21 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 32 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Kent (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.2%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 25 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 48% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 11 percentage points below the Dover average (59%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 43% against an expected 57%)
3-year average (expected standard): 43%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 67% · Writing 65% · Maths 61% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 57%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 103
Based on: 46 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolDover averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 11 percentage points below the Dover average (59%).

Year 6 SATs: 28th of 37 junior and primary schools in the area

=26Capel-le-Ferne Primary School50%
=26Sandown School50%
#28The Downs Church of England Primary School48%
=29Aycliffe Community Primary School46%
=29Whitfield Aspen School46%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

=1Kingsdown and Ringwould Church of England Primary School82%
=1Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School82%
#3Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School81%
#4Northbourne Church of England Primary School80%
#5Langdon Primary School79%
#6Wingham Primary School77%
#7Lydden Primary School75%
=8Sandwich Junior School73%
=8Sholden Church of England Primary School73%
#10St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham71%
#11St Martin's School70%
=12Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School69%
=12St Mary's Catholic Primary School69%
=12St Richard's Catholic Primary School69%
#15Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School68%
#16Barton Junior School66%
#17Eastry Church of England Primary School64%
#18Preston Primary School63%
#19River Primary School62%
#20Vale View Community School60%
#21Hornbeam Primary School58%
#22White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School57%
#23Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School54%
#24Priory Fields School53%
#25St Margaret's-at-Cliffe Primary School52%
=26Capel-le-Ferne Primary School50%
=26Sandown School50%
#28The Downs Church of England Primary School48%
=29Aycliffe Community Primary School46%
=29Whitfield Aspen School46%
#31Charlton Church of England Primary School45%
#32Warden House Primary School42%
=33Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School35%
=33Green Park Community Primary School35%
#35Goodnestone Church of England Primary School33%
#36Worth Primary School14%
#37Nonington Church of England Primary School0%

View full Ofsted inspection report

26th of 30 primary schools in Dover for Ofsted rating

#24St Richard's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#25Temple Ewell Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#26The Downs Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#27Vale View Community SchoolGood
#28White Cliffs Primary and Nursery SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Eythorne Elvington Community Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Green Park Community Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Kingsdown and Ringwould Church of England Primary SchoolOutstanding
#4Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#5Aycliffe Community Primary SchoolGood
#6Aylesham Primary SchoolGood
#7Capel-le-Ferne Primary SchoolGood
#8Charlton Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#9Deal Parochial Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#10Eastry Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#11Goodnestone Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#12Guston Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#13Hornbeam Primary SchoolGood
#14Langdon Primary SchoolGood
#15Lydden Primary SchoolGood
#16Northbourne Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#17Preston Primary SchoolGood
#18Priory Fields SchoolGood
#19Sandown SchoolGood
#20Sholden Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#21St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, AyleshamGood
#22St Martin's SchoolGood
#23St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#24St Richard's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#25Temple Ewell Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#26The Downs Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#27Vale View Community SchoolGood
#28White Cliffs Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#29Whitfield Aspen SchoolGood
#30Worth Primary SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,855 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

21st of 36 primary schools in Dover for spending per pupil

#19Priory Fields School£6,938
#20Preston Primary School£6,885
#21The Downs Church of England Primary School£6,855
#22St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham£6,822
#23Northbourne Church of England Primary School£6,763

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Goodnestone Church of England Primary School£12,500
#2Whitfield Aspen School£12,207
#3Aycliffe Community Primary School£11,522
#4Nonington Church of England Primary School£10,933
#5St Mary's Catholic Primary School£10,006
#6Worth Primary School£9,800
#7Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School£8,581
#8White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School£8,572
#9Lydden Primary School£8,427
#10Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School£8,250
#11Eastry Church of England Primary School£8,133
#12Langdon Primary School£7,885
#13Sholden Church of England Primary School£7,736
#14Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School£7,498
#15Green Park Community Primary School£7,309
#16Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School£7,209
#17St Margaret's-at-Cliffe Primary School£7,190
#18Hornbeam Primary School£7,102
#19Priory Fields School£6,938
#20Preston Primary School£6,885
#21The Downs Church of England Primary School£6,855
#22St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham£6,822
#23Northbourne Church of England Primary School£6,763
#24Capel-le-Ferne Primary School£6,649
#25Sandown School£6,563
#26Wingham Primary School£6,562
#27River Primary School£6,545
#28Charlton Church of England Primary School£6,490
#29Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School£6,403
#30Warden House Primary School£6,298
#31Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School£6,227
#32St Martin's School£5,866
#33Vale View Community School£5,835
#34St Richard's Catholic Primary School£5,734
#35Kingsdown and Ringwould Church of England Primary School£5,706
#36Aylesham Primary School£3,934

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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