Long Mead Community Primary School
General Information
- Address: Waveney Road, Tonbridge, TN10 3JU – View on map
- Phone: 01732350601
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Karen Follows
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 13 families put it first for 14 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 7 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 73
- % eligible for free school meals: 60.3%
- Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Tonbridge and Malling average)
- English as an additional language: 18% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 25% a year (Tonbridge and Malling 17.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Kent: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 21 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
- Suspensions for bullying: 32 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Kent (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 7.0%
- Persistently absent pupils: 23.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 31.5%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.1%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 19 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
No overall grade given 2025 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 47% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 18 percentage points below the Tonbridge and Malling average (65%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 48% against an expected 56%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 48%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 68% · Writing 47% · Maths 63% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
- Average test scores: reading 104, maths 109
- Based on: 19 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: 37th of 42 junior and primary schools in the area
- #35St George's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School50%
- #36Wouldham, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School49%
- #37Long Mead Community Primary School47%
- =38Ditton Church of England Junior School44%
- =38Platt Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School44%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £9,114 (2024-25)
4th of 41 primary schools in Tonbridge and Malling for spending per pupil
- #2Borough Green Primary School£9,896
- #3Plaxtol Primary School£9,128
- #4Long Mead Community Primary School£9,114
- #5West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language Srp£8,356
- #6Cage Green Primary School£8,280
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)