St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

St Matthew’s High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is currently performing at a level that requires improvement, particularly in the quality of education and leadership. While the school has a welcoming environment and supports positive behaviour among pupils, there are concerns with the expectations set by teachers and the design of the curriculum, leading to some pupils not achieving to their potential. The school has recently made efforts to enhance support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), but these initiatives have yet to yield significant improvements in outcomes for these pupils. This is the school's first routine inspection following the COVID-19 pandemic, and leaders are striving to implement new strategies to address identified weaknesses.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning.
• The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Pupils enjoy a variety of extracurricular activities, including sports and music.
• The early years provision effectively prepares children for future learning.
• Pupils learn about important concepts such as consent and tolerance.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not always have high enough expectations for pupils.
• The curriculum is not well-designed in several subjects.
• Some staff lack secure knowledge to teach phonics effectively.
• Gaps in pupils' knowledge are not identified or addressed promptly.

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 St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% 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, 1.5% of pupils at St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.1% 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, 15.0% of pupils at St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School received £8,273 and spent £7,880 for each of its 293 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £255,000 (£869 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 Tunbridge Wells · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 293 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School cover?

St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is at Powder Mill Lane, High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9DY.