Caldecott Foundation School
Caldecott Foundation School is a non-maintained special school in Ashford for boys and girls aged 5 to 18. It has 69 pupils and room for 85. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Station Road, Smeeth, Ashford, TN25 6PW01303 815685thecaldecottschool.co.ukMiss Stacey McShane headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 5 October 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
6 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.3 | – | – | 1.3 | 47.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | – | -2.73 | – | – | -2.68 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 0% | 48% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 0% | 67% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.14 | 0.02 | 0.15 | – | – | 0.06 | 4.28 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 0% | 48% | 41% |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Kent council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Kent with social, emotional and mental health provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (43), emotional and mental health (14), language and communications needs (4), Other difficulty or disability (3), Severe learning difficulty (3), Moderate learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 69 | 62 | 57 | 60 | 54 | 42 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 38% | 37% | 33% | 38% | 33% | 41% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 75.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 24.3% | 21.8% | 19.5% | 23.4% | 22.1% | 21.6% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 18.2% | 13.9% | 15.3% | 17.4% | 18.7% | 15.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 6.1% | 7.8% | 4.2% | 6.0% | 3.4% | 5.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 61.9% | 63.9% | 58.7% | 64.5% | 66.0% | 56.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 50.0 | 38.6 | 38.3 | 24.1 | 38.1 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 9 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 89% | 71% |
| Education | 89% | 71% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 11% | 29% |
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smeeth Community Primary School | Foundation | 0.7 miles | 120 | Good 2023 | 34 | Compare |
| Mersham Primary School | Foundation | 1.0 miles | 140 | Good 2022 | 22 | Compare |
| Aldington Primary School | Foundation | 1.9 miles | 198 | Good 2024 | 55 | Compare |
| Brabourne Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.1 miles | 104 | Good 2024 | 87 | Compare |
| Sellindge Primary School | Council | 2.4 miles | 198 | Good 2023 | 29 | Compare |
| Brook Community Primary School | Foundation | 2.6 miles | 76 | Good 2023 | 7 | Compare |
| Willesborough Infant School | Foundation | 2.6 miles | 333 | Good 2022 | 56 | Compare |
| Willesborough Junior School | Foundation | 2.6 miles | 478 | Good 2023 | 50 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Caldecott Foundation School a good school?
Caldecott Foundation School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in October 2022.
What is Caldecott Foundation School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Caldecott Foundation School good at its last full inspection on 5 October 2022.
How good are Caldecott Foundation School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 1.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Caldecott Foundation School have?
69 pupils aged 5 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 85 places, so it is 81% full.
What is attendance like at Caldecott Foundation School?
Pupils were in school 75.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 62% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Caldecott Foundation School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Caldecott Foundation School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Station Road, Smeeth, Ashford, TN25 6PW
- Telephone
- 01303 815685
- Website
- www.thecaldecottschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Miss Stacey McShane
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Kent
- Ward
- Bircholt
- Constituency
- Ashford
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 119027 · LAESTAB 8867003 · UKPRN 10015061
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.