Plaistow and Kirdford Primary School

About Plaistow and Kirdford Primary School

Plaistow and Kirdford Primary School is a state primary in Chichester, West Sussex, with a mixed intake of 200 pupils aged 4 to 11, just shy of its 210-pupil capacity. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 6.5%, notably lower than the national average, suggesting a relatively affluent local catchment. Demand is clearly strong: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 59 applications for just 28 places, with 26 of those coming as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.11. This means more than two families applied for every available spot, and all first-preference applicants were offered places. The school is led by headteacher Charlie King and has no religious character. It does not offer nursery provision or a sixth form, focusing entirely on primary-age children.

Academically, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025 rated its overall effectiveness as not judged, but the graded inspection gave it Requires Improvement for quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision. Behaviour and attitudes, and personal development, were both rated Good. This marks a decline from its previous Good rating in 2010. Despite the Ofsted outcome, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 are strong: 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the local authority average of 56%. Average scores in reading and maths both hit 105, and 24% of pupils achieved the higher standard in maths. The school ranks 1st out of 38 schools in Chichester on the KS2 expected standard metric, placing it in the top 3% locally and the top 27% nationally.

The school offers a range of facilities including music rooms, an ICT suite, art studios and a chapel, plus sports such as cross country, gymnastics, athletics and swimming. Clubs include drama, choir and gardening. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 67 families between September 2024 and September 2025 are overwhelmingly positive: 94% would recommend the school, 96% agree their child is happy, and 92% agree their child does well. The school suits families who value strong academic outcomes in a popular, oversubscribed village primary, but who are comfortable with a school currently working through an Ofsted improvement plan.

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