Valence School
Westerham Road, Westerham, TN16 1QN
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Principal
- Mr Matthew Strange
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Sevenoaks
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 128
- Pupils on roll
- 129
- URN
- 119032
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01959562156
About this school
Valence School is a foundation special school in Westerham. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 129 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 14 | 7 | 9 |
| Attainment 8 score | 2.4 | 5.4 | 3.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.99 -2.79 to -1.19 | -1.72 -2.86 to -0.59 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Valence School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2.4 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 5.4 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 3.7 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 19.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 18% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 119 |
| 2023/24 | 123 |
| 2024/25 | 132 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report18 June 2025
- 3 December 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 35.42%
- English as an additional language
- 6.8%
- Overall absence
- 15.16%
- Persistent absence
- 60.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Radnor House Sevenoaks1.6 miles
Independent schools
-
Limpsfield Grange School3.5 miles
Special schools · Oxted
-
The New Beacon School3.8 miles
Independent schools · Sevenoaks
-
Hazelwood School3.8 miles
Independent schools · Oxted
-
The Granville School4.0 miles
Independent schools · Sevenoaks
Other schools in Westerham
- Biggin Hill Primary School Primary
- Churchill Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cudham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Oaklands Primary Academy Primary
- Charles Darwin School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Valence School teach?
- Valence School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Westerham.
- Who is the principal of Valence School?
- The principal of Valence School is Mr Matthew Strange, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Valence School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Valence School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Valence School?
- Valence School has 129 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Valence School full?
- Valence School has capacity for 128 pupils and 129 on roll (101%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Valence School a faith school?
- No. Valence School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Valence School have?
- The schools register lists Valence School's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Valence School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Valence School's absence rate?
- Valence School's overall absence rate is 15.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Valence School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Valence School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.