St Faith’s at Ash School is an independent day school for boys and girls aged from two to 11 years. Admission to the school is non-selective. The school opened in January 1987 on the site of a former independent school, close to the town of Sandwich. The present owners purchased the school in 1997 and one of the proprietors is also the headteacher. There are currently 193 pupils on roll. No pupil has a statement of special educational needs but the school supports a number of pupils with learning difficulties. In response to parental demand, the school has recently extended its early years provision to admit children from the age of two to three years. Consequently, it has restructured its early years provision so that it now comprises a nursery unit, Sandcastles Nursery, and two Reception classes. The school is registered to accommodate up to 50 children aged from two to four years but there are currently 45 of whom 25 receive free nursery education. The school is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The school provides childcare for pupils of any age daily from 8.00 to 8.30am (including a breakfast club for Sandcastles Nursery children) and from 3.15 to 5.30pm during term time only. The school had its last full inspection in November 2008. The school aims to prepare pupils for entry to grammar schools in Kent. In addition, it endeavours ‘to give all our children every possible opportunity to flourish and achieve their full potential’ and it believes ‘in helping children to discover more about the world outside the classroom’.