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 Sevenoaks Primary Places for September 2019 Allocations here, for 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)
SEVENOAKS PRIMARY SCHOOL
OFSTED REPORTS Sep 2019 - Feb 2020
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Chevening St Botolph's CofE |
Good |
Nov 19 |
Down One |
Churchill CofE |
Good |
Dec 19 |
Up one |
Four Elms |
Good |
Oct 19 |
No change |
Halsted |
Requires Improvement |
Nov 19 |
Down one |
Ightham |
Outstanding |
Mar 20 |
Up One* |
Weald |
Good |
Mar 20 |
No change |
* Following Short Inspection in Jan 2019, recommending full inspection to follow
SEVENOAKS PRIMARY SCHOOL
OFSTED REPORTS Sep 2018 - Jul 2019
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Amherst (A) |
Good (SR) |
Jan 19 |
No change |
Ide Hill CofE |
Good (S) |
Apr 19 |
No change |
Ightham |
Good (SR) |
Jan 19 |
No change |
Platt CofE |
Good (S) |
Apr 19 |
No change |
Shoreham Village |
Good (S) |
Mar 19 |
No change |
West Kingsdown CofE |
Good |
Nov 18 |
Up one |
SEVENOAKS PRIMARY SCHOOL
OFSTED REPORTS 2017-18
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Borough Green |
Good |
Jun 18 |
No change |
Churchill CofE VC |
Requires Improvement |
Oct 17 |
Down One |
Crockham Hill CofE |
Good |
Feb 18 |
No change |
Dunton Green |
Good |
Jul 18 |
Down one |
Edenbridge* |
Inadequate |
Jan 18 |
Down Two |
Fawkham |
Good |
Jun 18 |
No change |
Hever CofE VA |
Requires Improvement |
Mar 18 |
Down One |
Otford |
Good |
May 18 |
No change |
Plaxtol |
Good |
Jan 18 |
No change |
St Lawrence CofE |
Good |
Sep 17 |
No change |
Sevenoaks |
Good |
Nov 17 |
No change |
you will find an article on the Edenbridge disaster here. The school has now been taken over as a Sponsored Academy by the Pioneer Academy Trust, which runs seven other primary academies in Bexley.
SEVENOAKS
PRIMARY SCHOOLS OFSTED REPORTS 2017-18
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Churchill CofE VC |
Requires Improvement |
Oct 17 |
Down one |
St Lawrence CofE |
Good |
Sep 17 |
No change |
Sevenoaks
|
Good |
Nov 17 |
No change |
SEVENOAKS PRIMARY SCHOOLS
OFSTED REPORTS 2015-16
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Dunton Green |
Requires Improvement |
Feb 16 |
No change |
Four Elms, Edenbridge |
Good |
Feb 16 |
No change |
Halstead |
Good |
Mar 16 |
Up one |
Platt CofE VA |
Good |
Oct 15 |
Up one |
Weald Community |
Good |
Jun 16 |
No change |
West Kingsdown CofE VC |
Requires Improvement |
May 16 |
No change |
Excerpt from the Sevenoaks section of an article on Oversubscription and Vacancies in Kent Primary schools 2015: "As in previous years, there are no vacancies at all in the seven town schools, four being heavily oversubscribed each with between 26 and 30 first choices turned away: Riverhead Infant; Sevenoaks; Lady Boswell’s CofE and St John’s CofE. With 360 offers, a third of these did not get their first choice".
SEVENOAKS PRIMARY SCHOOLS
OFSTED REPORTS 2014-15
|
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Amherst (A) |
Good |
Feb 15 |
Down one |
Anthony Roper, Eynsford |
Good |
Jul 15 |
No change |
Capel |
Good |
Feb 15 |
Up one |
Chiddingstone CofE (A) |
Outstanding |
Mar 15 |
No change |
Ide Hill |
Good |
Jun 15 |
No change |
Ightham |
Good |
Feb 15 |
No change |
Shoreham Village |
Reasonable progress to Remove SM |
Nov 14 |
Good |
Apr 15 |
Up two |
Stansted CofE |
Insufficient progress to Remove SM |
Dec 14 |
Insufficient progress to Remove SM |
Mar 15
|
Sundridge & Brasted CofE |
Outstanding |
Jun 15 |
Up two |
(1) See article about Stansted. Stansted is to close July 2015.
Information from Oversubscription Survey of Kent primary schools, for entry September 2014.
Biggest problems overall appear to be in Sevenoaks town and District, where there are just 10 vacancies overall across the 27 schools, at Churchill in Westerham and Fordcombe. There is intense pressure on Sevenoaks town again, even following last year’s expansions of an additional 60 places being pumped into Sevenoaks and Lady Boswell’s CofE Primaries. As a result, many families will find their children diverted to schools in neighbouring villages, filling these, a total of 75 families in the District getting no school of their choice. It is often falsely stated that the problems are caused by parental choice, although there is a polarisation towards Riverhead Infants in the town. But, if all schools in the town and district are oversubscribed, then parents have no choice! In total 186 of the 940 children applying for places did not get their first choice.
2012-13 OFSTED Reports
School |
OFSTED Grade
|
Date |
Change |
Chevening, St Botolph's CofE VA |
Outstanding |
Feb 13 |
Up one |
Crockham Hill CofE |
Good |
Jun 13 |
Down one |
Edenbridge |
Good |
May 13 |
No change |
Kemsing |
Good |
Jul 13 |
No change |
Platt CofE VA |
Requires Improvement |
Jun 13 |
Down one |
Plaxtol |
Good |
Jan 13 |
Up one |
St Katharine's Knockholt CofE VA |
Good |
Feb 13 |
No change |
St Lawrence CofE |
Good |
Jan 13 |
No change |
Sevenoaks |
Good |
Apr 13 |
Down one |
Sundridge & Brasted CofE VC |
Requires Improvement |
Jun 13 |
No change |
West Kingsdown CofE VC |
Special Measures |
Jun 13 |
Down two |
Pre September 2012 Reports
Admission Issues for September 2012 entry (written March 2012)
Sevenoaks has the dubious honour of having two of the four most oversubscribed primary schools in the county. Riverhead Infants School heads the list with 54 first choices not offered places, with Sevenoaks Primary School in fourth place with 44 first choices turned away. For some reason, Sevenoaks Primary which admitted 90 children last year, has seen this reduced to 60 for 2012 entry (possibly because of pressure on space in the school) but the impact of this reduction itself does not explain the leap in popularity of the two schools which turned away 26 first choices between them in 2011. However, there was an increase of around 80 children in Sevenoaks and District, some of which will be Sevenoaks residents. Some of the displaced children were absorbed by those parents who had also put St John's on their list. St John's had its PAN increased by 15 to 30 for 2011, and this year its numbers were increased by another 20 to try and tackle the problems. In other words St John's has seen its intake change from 15 to 50 in just two years and one has to wonder if it has the facilities to cope with this dramatic change in character of the school.
41 of the remaining children were allocated to Seal Primary School, 2 miles out of Sevenoaks, along the A25, which is already solid with traffic at 8.30 in the morning. For the second year running Seal has been doubled in size to take in a temporary intake of 60, although in 2011 the extra places were not taken up. This time the school is technically full, with just 19 local children taking up places, and one wonders how many children will wander off to private schools where parents can afford to pay, to avoid the journey and the enforced placement of so many children out of town.
In this district there is also considerable pressure in the area around Sevenoaks, with Chevening St Botolph's, Chiddingstone, Crockham Hill, Fawkham, and Kemsing, all turning away more than 10 first choices. Many of those children who were offered none of their choices will have been placed at Edenbridge (24 allocations), and Halsted (16). An additional 10 last minute places were put in at Shoreham and another 5 at Weald Primary School to eas the pressures. When all the numbers are added up, there are just 7 vacant places in the rural areas, with none in Sevenoaks itself.
The following primary schools had additional Reception intake places added in March for 2011 entry, to meet local pressures:
Chiddingstone CofE Primary, up from 20 to 25 places
Churchill CofE Primary up from 40 to 50 places
Ide Hill CofE Primary up from 15 to 20 places
St John's CofE Primary (Sevenoaks), up from 15 to 30 places
St Katherine's Knockholt CofE Primary, up from 20 to 30 places
For 2011, the following additional places were added.
Chiddingstone Primary: PAN increased by 5, a further 5 places added in March.
Otford Primary: 10 additional places were in March
Seal CofE VC Primary: 30 additional places in March
Sevenoaks Primary: , 30 additional places in March
Weald Community Primary: 5 additional places in March