Aylesford School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 April 2025

Pupils embrace countless opportunities to develop positive character traits. The school actively fosters courage, confidence and resilience, alongside other aspects of character development. Staff reward pupils' efforts, and pupils relish this positive reinforcement. The school's inclusive vision creates an environment where pupils feel happy and free to be themselves. Community events hosted by the school help pupils learn and develop further. The popular 'dementia café' is a shining example of this, where pupils demonstrate empathy and kindness at the same time as learning vital skills such as organisation and taking responsibility. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave well. They are polite and courteous to each other and to visitors and staff. The school deals with bullying robustly and fairly. Although some parents raise concerns, most pupils have confidence in how the school supports them and feel that bullying is rare. The school has high expectations for everyone. However, some pupils do not learn as well as they should because the recent improvements to the school's curriculum are not fully embedded.

What the school should improve

• The improvements that the school has made to the curriculum have not been fully implemented yet. This means that in some subjects, there is variability in the implementation of the school's ambitious curriculum, and teachers do not help pupils remember and build on crucial information as well as they should. The school should continue to support staff to implement the curriculum effectively.
• Sometimes teachers do not check what pupils know or remember effectively. As a result, gaps and misconceptions in pupils' understanding are not identified or addressed as thoroughly as they should be. The school must ensure that teachers consistently diagnose these gaps and misconceptions accurately and adjust subsequent teaching accordingly to support pupils' learning further.
• The school does not have an accurate understanding of how well its actions to improve specific aspects of its provision, including the quality of education, are working. As a result, some of the strategies the school is using are not focused specifically enough on improving the impact of the curriculum. The trust and governors need to sharpen their understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the school and ensure that they evaluate the impact of improvements more precisely.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)