Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a welcoming, values-driven primary where pupils are proud to attend and behave well. This graded inspection followed a previous requires improvement judgement, and the report notes that recent improvements are now having a clear impact. The school is judged good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision; under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is given. Strengths include an ambitious broad curriculum, a strong early reading approach, effective support for pupils with SEND, and warm relationships that support positive attitudes and low disruption. Pupils’ personal development and attendance are also well supported, and safeguarding is effective. The main area to improve is that in some foundation subjects teachers do not routinely revisit prior learning, so pupils do not secure or recall knowledge as well as they should; the school should strengthen teaching approaches consistently across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Welcoming and vibrant school with a strong values-driven culture
• Pupils take on meaningful roles such as school councillors and reading buddies
• Highly ambitious curriculum and high expectations for academic achievement and character development
• Strong early reading provision with systematic phonics and tailored support for pupils who struggle
• Determined and effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and typically check understanding effectively
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain
• Pupils show highly positive attitudes, behave respectfully and low-level disruption is extremely rare
• Attendance is in line with national levels and persistent absence of disadvantaged pupils is reducing
• Governors are knowledgeable, supportive and keep a close watch on safeguarding and attendance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, teachers do not routinely revisit previous learning
• Pupils’ knowledge is less secure in these subjects and they sometimes struggle to recall and connect prior learning
• Teaching approaches need strengthening across the curriculum so pupils learn consistently well in all subjects

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 Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.9% 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, 10.2% of pupils at Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.0% 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 Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School received £7,278 and spent £7,262 for each of its 176 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £160,000 (£909 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 Edenbridge · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 176 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School cover?

Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Hever Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is at Hever Road, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7NH.