Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School
Coldred Road, Shepherdswell, Dover, CT15 7LH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Lamb
- Diocese
- Diocese of Canterbury
- Federation
- The Federation of Shepherdswell Church of England and Eythorne Elvington
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 213
- URN
- 118691
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304830312
About this school
Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Dover. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 213 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 31 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 86% | 87% | 82% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 90% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 94% | 96% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 74% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 86% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 87% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 82% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 206 |
| 2024/25 | 207 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School compares
Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School ranked 42nd of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 82% | 4.4% | 16.4% | 213 | — |
| Lydden Primary School | 75% | 4.6% | 20.5% | 68 | 1.4 miles |
| Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School | 68% | 6.6% | 46.4% | 111 | 1.7 miles |
| Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School | 81% | 4.3% | 20% | 154 | 2.6 miles |
| Nonington Church of England Primary School | 0% | 13% | 63.8% | 45 | 2.8 miles |
| Selsted Church of England Primary School | 56% | 4.6% | 13.4% | 96 | 3.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report17 March 2026
- 19 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.43%
- English as an additional language
- 3.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.43%
- Persistent absence
- 10.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lydden Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Nonington Church of England Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Selsted Church of England Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School ranks 1st of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dover.
- Aycliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Barton Junior School Primary
- Charlton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School Primary
- Green Park Community Primary School Primary
- Guston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Langdon Primary School Primary
- Lydden Primary School Primary
- Nonington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Priory Fields School Primary
- River Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School teach?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Dover.
- Who is the headteacher of Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School is Mr Mark Lamb, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School has 213 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School full?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 213 on roll (101%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Does Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School is part of the The Federation of Shepherdswell Church of England and Eythorne Elvington federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 86% in 2022/23 and 82% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School ranked 42nd of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Shepherdswell Church of England Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.