Tonbridge Primary Schools

Updated May 2020

Coronavirus; There are a number of articles on this site exploring the implications of the pandemic on school applications and appeals. You will find them by putting 'Coronavirus' in the search engine on the top left hand corner of this page. This page contains outcomes of Ofsted Inspections carried out up until 4th February 2020, the last ones published before schools were closed. I estimate about another 10 will have been completed but results are waiting until schools are opened, which may not be until September. I think it most unlikely there will be any more this school year.

Entries on this page include the OFSTED Grade for each Primary School updated twice a year, also recording change from previous Inspection result, together with some other relevant information below. It is worth using the search engine on the Home Page to pick up other references to individual schools.

You will find advice on Primary school Admissions and Appeals here.

You can read the full Report on each Primary School at OFSTED. Each school is awarded a main Grade: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement (previously Satisfactory), and Inadequate (two sub categories - A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better - A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school). Each Report carries a brief description of the school before justifying its decision in more detail. If a school is in Special Measures or Serious Weaknesses, the results of further monitoring visits are noted.

A majority of the schools that have previously had a 'Good' or 'Outstanding' assessment are given a Short Inspection (known as Section 8). These are indicated by 'Good (S). These will be confirmed in their assessment grade. However for some of these schools, the Inspection Team may consider that there are concerns, or in the case of a Good school, grounds for raising the Grade and this can only be done by a full Section Five Grade. These are recorded for example as 'Outstanding (SC) or 'Good (SR).

You will find an analysis of oversubscription and vacancies for Tonbridge Primary Places for September 2019 Allocations here, 2018 here, for 2017 here, and for 2016 here.

You will find a commercial site providing a comprehensive analysis of different 11 Plus exams, preparation and appeals at 11 Plus Exams.

Reports on Inspections between between September 2018 and July 2019 are in the first table, followed by other tables containing older ones.

(A) Indicates the school is an Academy (2017 onwards)

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS Sep 19 - Feb 20
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Hadlow	Good	Oct 19	No change
Long Mead	Good	Sep 19	Up one
Marden	Good (SC)	Oct 19	Concern Section 5 to follow

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS Sep 18 - July 19
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Brenchley & Matfield (A)	Good (S)	Nov 18	No change
Shipbourne	Good (S)	Mar 19	No change
*Woodlands (A)**	Good	Jun 19	1st Insp

* First Inspection as an academy after Woodlands Junior (Good) and Infant (Outstanding) combined

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS 2017-18
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Stocks Green	Good	Jun 18	No change

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS 2016-17
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Cage Green Primary	Requires Improvement	Oct 16	No change
St Stephen's (Tonbridge) Primary	Special Measures	Sept 16	Down one
Sussex Road Community Primary	Good	Nov 16	No change
St Margaret's, Collier Street CofE Voluntary Controlled	Good	Mar 17	No change
Long Mead Community Primary	Requires Improvement	May 17	Down one
Hildenborough CofE Primary	Good	May 17	No change

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS 2015-16
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Hadlow	Good	Mar 2016	Up one
Marden	Good	Mar 2016	Up one

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS 2014-15
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Leigh	Good	Oct 14	Up one
Shipbourne	Good	Mar 15	Up one
Staplehurst	Reasonable Progress to removal of SW		Nov 14
Staplehurst	Good	Jun 15	Up one
Wateringbury	Requires Improvement	Feb 15	No change

Information from Oversubscription Survey of Kent primary schools, for entry September 2014.

Tonbridge town once again has no vacancies in any of its Reception classes for September with first choices polarising again around Slade Primary, which turned away 47 children. However, just 29 allocations to two schools suggests most parents are not unhappy with their offers.

TONBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS 2013-14
School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Brenchley & Matfield CofE	Good (see below)	Nov 13	Up one
Cage Green	Reasonable Progress from SM	Sep 13
	Reasonable Progress from SM	Jan 14
	Requires Improvement	Jul 14	Up one
East Peckham	Good	Oct 13	Up one
Hadlow	Requires Improvement	Dec 13	No change
Horsmonden	Requires Improvement	Mar 14	Down one
Long Mead Community	Good	Jan 14	Up one
Marden	Requires Improvement	Nov 13	Down one
St Stephen's	Requires Improvement	Jul 14	No change
Stocks Green, Hildenborough	Good	Mar 14	No change
Woodlands Infants	Good	Jan 14	No change

Long Mead Community Primary School is Federated with Hugh Christie Technology College.

In March 2010, Brenchley & Matfield was placed in Special Measures with an absolutely dreadful OFSTED Report. In October 2010, a Monitoring Inspection again hammered the school, with particular criticism being levelled at KCC's inadequate response. A subsequent inspection in October 2011 found the school to be 'Satisfactory' and since then it has completed a hard earned climb. The school is situated in a prosperous part of the Tonbridge District and although the initial failure came as a shock to many, the disruption in staffing provision, including some poor staff should have sent warning signs to the Authority which clearly failed to act.

2012-13 OFSTED Reports

School	OFSTED Grade	Date	Change
Capel	Requiress Improvement	Feb 12	No change
Cage Green	Special Measures	Oct 12	Down One
	Progress from SM	Jan 13
	Reasonable progress	May 13
Hildenborough CofE	Good	Oct 12	Up one
Leigh	Requires Improvement	May 13	Down one
Long Mead	Requires Improvement	Dec 12	No change
Penshurst CofE VA	Good	May 13	Down one
St Margaret's, Collier St, CofE VC	Good	Jul 13	No change
St Stephens	Requires Improvement	Sep 12	No change
Wateringbury CofE	Requires Improvement	Feb 13	No change

Pre September 2012 Reports

School	Grade	Date	Comments
Capel Primary	Satisfactory	Jun 2011
East Peckham Primary	Satisfactory	Sep 2011
Hildenborough CofE Primary	Satisfactory	Jul 2010
Horsmonden Primary	Good	Nov 2010
Stansted CofE Primary	Satisfactory	Jun 2010
Sussex Road Primary	Good	Sep 2011
Woodlands Junior	Outstanding	May 2011

The following comment on September 2012 admissions was written March 2012

The town of Tonbridge has fewer children than the other pressure points, but still only has vacancies in one school. Cage Green Primary had its PAN increased by 6 to manage the increasing numbers but finished with 20 spaces. Oddly most children who were allocated, 15 in number, have been sent to Long Mead Community Primary, filling it, with just one to Cage Green. Slade Primary is the sixth most oversubscribed primary school in Kent. Woodlands Infant School, the only recent OFSTED Outstanding school in Tonbridge, turned away just 2 first choices.

The following primary school had additional Reception intake places added in March for 2011 entry, to meet local pressures:

Long Mead Primary, up from 20 to 30 places

Published in Kent Primary Schools

Tagged under