Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School in Ramsgate has launched consultation to restructure teaching and support staff, with the aim of cutting around 6 – 7% of its current annual budget.
The savings, estimated to be between £560k-£600k, need to be made due to financial pressures which include insufficient funding, a rise in school staff pay which is also not fully funded, and less per pupil income due to falling numbers, which is linked to a declining birth rate as well as a disappointing Ofsted grading last year.
The grammar received an inadequate overall Ofsted rating, largely based on its single sex classes, although gradings were good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and Sixth Form provision but inadequate for personal development and leadership and management. This led to an overall grading of Inadequate.
The school’s previous grading from an inspection in 2014 was Good and this was retained after a short inspection in 2018.
The latest Ofsted grading has been disputed by the school as ‘inconsistent’ and ‘unfounded.’
However, the school says the Ofsted rating has no bearing on the restructure plans which were already being considered.
‘Funding isn’t keeping pace with costs’
John Waker, Chair of Trustees, said: “Sadly, like schools up and down the country, we are having to deliver on our educational aspirations while managing funding that isn’t keeping pace with our costs.
“Not only is the impact of a declining birth rate starting to be felt by secondaries across the country, but recent announcements about improving school staff pay, while much needed, are not fully funded. This issue is magnified at a school like ours, where we have lots of very experienced teachers who are at the top of their pay scales.
“That is why it is right to stress that our financial pressures are not linked to Ofsted. The indication was that we would need to go through some restructuring in the future even before the inspectors arrived.
“It is, however, likely that we will also have a smaller intake in September 2025 because of our Ofsted grading. While the financial impact of this will not be felt for another two years as school funding is lagged, it would be wrong for us not to at least start to prepare for this.
“We have a fantastic team of staff at Chatham and Clarendon, and they should be applauded for all they do for our brilliant students. That makes conversations about restructures all the harder. Sadly, however, we are not alone in having to make decisions like this and, by acting now, we are protecting everything we want to achieve in the future.”
The school has launched a consultation over the restructure but says how this is achieved “has yet to be determined, as the initial stage involves conversations with staff.”
Ofsted and Action Statement
Despite the overall Ofsted grading, inspectors did also praise areas including enrichment programmes, the care and nurture of students and the high expectations that everyone had for students.
Headteacher Debra Liddicoat said: “If you simply look at the Ofsted judgement, then it is easy to look back at 2024 as being a difficult time for our school.
“However, the one-word conclusion inspectors came to, which we still disagree with, also makes it easy to forget that there was also a great deal for us to celebrate.
“In the summer we secured our best ever set of results at GCSE. The data shows that our students made greater progress last year than at any point in recent memory and our school has jumped up the league tables of Kent Schools. The feedback we have had from our students and parents has been incredibly positive, and we have seen our students thrive in all walks of life.
“All indicators are that we are in a strong position educationally, and that out future is very bright.”
As part of the school’s formal response to the inspection, they have prepared a Statement of Action which is currently with the Department for Education being reviewed.
Mrs Liddicoat added: “Given the disputes about the accuracy of the original report, we have used the production of this document to forensically consider how we can enhance already strong practice and improve areas where some additional focus would be beneficial.
“We are genuinely trying to make the best of a situation we don’t believe we should be in – and this is being recognised by others. The Statement of Action will be shared with our community as soon as we have been given the green light to do so.”
School Cuts Coalition
Research released by the School Cuts Coalition this month shows the vast majority of schools – 76% of primary schools and 94% of secondary schools – will not be able to afford their costs next year.
This follows the Government’s remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) which recommended a 2.8% rise in teacher pay for 2025/26 but provided no new funding to cover this.
The coalition says school costs are expected to rise by 3.4% next year, but mainstream funding will increase by just 2.2%, leaving a gap of £700million that would be needed to fully fund staff pay awards.
The coalition adds that the cut in funding will mean overall per pupil funding drops to the lowest levels in England in real terms for at least 15 years.
Will the I.O.T.N print the data that is on the Kent Online today.
I have just been looking through data that shows 1st choices for all secondary schools in Kent.
I live in Pegwell and have chosen St Georges and Charles Dickens as 1st and 2nd choice for my child. Both these schools are well oversubscribed.
Looking forward to the other schools that are under subscribed I imagine my child will get Sandwich or some children recently have been given Hartsdown in Margate to make up the numbers.
Will there be an article about this?
I can’t just take Kent Online’s data, I need to look up the figures and go through them myself. I’m happy to do that but it is something that takes time
The top management of this school still ignore evidence of problems. Because the school has some significant weaknesses which parents have read about and/or experienced themselves school numbers are falling – hence need for budget cuts. It is disingenous to blame any national government for this. As a former pupil with an Economics A Level I know how to assess evidence and also how to suss out PR efforts.
These schools have the pick of the crop of pupils takes the best from the area. Yet fails Ofsted. Something is wrong
Chatham House have no interest whatsoever in educating kids with problems such as adhd etc no matter how bright they are..
My son is currently at college and is predicted distinctions in his current courses and has been offered places in all 5 of the universities that he applied for depending on final marks of his A Levels..
Rewinding back to his time at Chatham House because he suffered with ADHD symptoms they wouldn’t put him in normal classes for 3 years, all he got was 2 hours one to one teaching with a teaching assistant.. In his final year KCC finally found him a new school, the head of his new school told me that because there was so many gaps in his education due to his time at Chatham House that he wasn’t expected to pass any GCSE’s whatsoever..
But with proper support from the school and hard work ge passed 5 with flying colours and I’m now being told by his tutors at college that he’s incredible and will go onto great things..
It wasn’t just the gaps in his education that became apparent from his time at Chatham House his confidence eroded as he wasn’t allowed to mix with kids his own age which meant he went from being extremely popular amongst his classmates at primary school to becoming insular and depressed and feeling like misfit at which should’ve been some of the best years of his life..
I can’t forgive the head nor senior staff for what they did to him at mistime there. He was so proud to get into a grammar school (we all were) yet the way they treat kids on the spectrum is nothing short of third world.
It’s seems that CCGS is somewhat being picked out at the moment. Read the article and its most schools that are short of money!
Reading through the Ofsted report it’s seems a very bias opinion. I imagine an inspector that does not like the grammar system.
Living local to CCGS I have friends whose children are at the school and give total support to the headteacher.
Looking at the stats on Kent online yesterday it looks like there is enough space across the three local Grammar schools to accommodate the children that have passed their Kent test.
People should look past the decor of CCGS and not believe everything they read on Thanet chat on Facebook!
I image a percentage of children who have picked Dane court will be given CCGS as DC is oversubscribed for first choice. It also looks like Charles dickens and St George’s are massively oversubscribed for their first choice places as well.
Both Sandwich tech and Hartsdown are under subscribed.