Capel Primary School

Capel Primary School continues to maintain a good standard of education, placing a strong emphasis on pupil well-being and safety. Teachers are dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where every child is supported, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The school's curriculum promotes engagement and helps pupils, including disadvantaged students, achieve well. A key strength is the community feel within the school, where collaboration between pupils, parents, and staff enhances the learning experience and contributes to high attendance rates. However, although the school has many commendable aspects, there are areas for improvement, especially in identifying gaps in knowledge among pupils. Some misconceptions are not always addressed promptly, which can leave certain aspects of learning insecure. Overall, while Capel Primary School demonstrates effective teaching and support mechanisms, there remains a need to further refine assessment practices to ensure all pupils have a solid understanding of their learning objectives.

Strengths

• Strong emphasis on pupil well-being and safety
• Effective support for disadvantaged and SEND pupils
• Community-focused environment fostering collaboration
• Engaging curriculum with enriching experiences
• Proactive approach to addressing attendance barriers
• Teachers utilize assessment effectively to inform instruction
• Central importance given to reading and literacy

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent identification of misconceptions in pupils' understanding
• Gaps in assessments leading to areas of insecure learning

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Capel Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.4% of pupils at Capel Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Capel Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.9% of pupils at Capel Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Capel Primary School received £6,540 and spent £6,858 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £17,000 (£83 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Tonbridge · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Capel Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Capel Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Capel Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Capel Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Capel Primary School have?

Capel Primary School has 209 pupils on roll.

What age range does Capel Primary School cover?

Capel Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Capel Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Capel Primary School?

Capel Primary School is at Five Oak Green Road, Five Oak Green, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 6RP.