Nexus Foundation Special School
Upper Haysden Lane, Tonbridge, TN11 8AA
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT)
- Headteacher
- Mr Scott Jarred
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Tonbridge
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 330
- Pupils on roll
- 307
- URN
- 119050
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01732771384
About this school
Nexus Foundation Special School is a foundation special school in Tonbridge. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 307 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Nexus Foundation Special School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| 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% | 5% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | 102.0 | 90.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | 98.0 | 92.0 |
| Reading progress | -9.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -8.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -8.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 14 | 11 | 16 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Nexus Foundation Special 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 261 |
| 2023/24 | 278 |
| 2024/25 | 296 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.29%
- English as an additional language
- 6.1%
- Overall absence
- 13.71%
- Persistent absence
- 36.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Meadows School1.4 miles
Special schools · Tunbridge Wells
-
Tonbridge School1.6 miles
Independent schools · Tonbridge
-
Hilden Grange School1.7 miles
Independent schools · Tonbridge
-
Hilden Oaks Preparatory School and Nursery1.7 miles
Independent schools · Tonbridge
-
YMCA West Kent2.0 miles
Other types · Tonbridge
Other schools in Tonbridge
- Hilden Park Special schools
- Skills for Independence and Employability Ltd Other types
- YMCA West Kent Other types
- Bishop Chavasse Primary School Primary
- Brenchley and Matfield Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cage Green Primary School Primary
- Capel Primary School Primary
- East Peckham Primary School Primary
- Hadlow Primary School Primary
- Hildenborough Church of England Primary School Primary
- Leigh Academy Horsmonden Primary
- Leigh Academy Marden Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Nexus Foundation Special School teach?
- Nexus Foundation Special School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Tonbridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Nexus Foundation Special School?
- The headteacher of Nexus Foundation Special School is Mr Scott Jarred, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Nexus Foundation Special School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Nexus Foundation Special 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 many pupils are at Nexus Foundation Special School?
- Nexus Foundation Special School has 307 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Nexus Foundation Special School full?
- Nexus Foundation Special School has capacity for 330 pupils and 307 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 Nexus Foundation Special School a faith school?
- No. Nexus Foundation Special School has no designated religious character.
- Is Nexus Foundation Special School part of an academy trust?
- Nexus Foundation Special School is part of Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT). Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Nexus Foundation Special School have?
- The schools register lists Nexus Foundation Special School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Nexus Foundation Special 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 Nexus Foundation Special School's absence rate?
- Nexus Foundation Special School's overall absence rate is 13.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Nexus Foundation Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Nexus Foundation Special 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.