About the School

Letter from the Chair of Governors

St Barnabas' Church of England Primary School is located in the popular town of Tunbridge Wells, in West Kent.  As a small school we get to know each and every child that attends and are able to instill in the children a deep sense of community. 

The school works really hard to develop links within the community, both through the “Friends of St Barnabas” which invites all members of the local community to participate in school activities, and through local churches, businesses and community groups such as CREATE, the “Camden Road Education, Arts and Theatre Enterprise”. CREATE regularly support the school’s creative curriculum through their links with local artists and cultural activities, for example the local childrens’ literary festival, “StoryFest” and “Applause” theatre performances which are held at the school.

The whole town takes part in an annual lantern parade, which starts with lantern making workshops for Tunbridge Wells families, and ends with a barbecue in the school hall provided by the Friends of St Barnabas.

The School's commitment to openness is put into practise in the annual Heritage Open Day, which is a Tunbridge Wells wide event, at which the school opens its doors for anyone to visit and have refreshments organised by the Friends of St Barnabas.  As well as this, the Friends also organise Christmas and summer fairs, a children’s disco three times a year, adult socials open to anyone in the community, and their key fundraising event which is participation in the Fundraisers Dragon Boat Festival at nearby Bewl Water.

Our growing school received a "Good" rating in our last Ofsted and we are keen to both recognise this success but also acknowledge where there is still room to improve.  We are also proud of the comment in a recent Ofsted Survey Inspection, ‘A Review of Anti-Bullying Practice in Schools’, which said that "there was a golden thread that linked the school's values and ethos throughout the community".

Our Governing Body and all staff are fully committed to the roles they will play in maintaining and building on our success and are excited about seeing the school grow. 

Our wide and varied curriculum reflects our Christian ethos and encourages the children to be informed, inclusive and tolerant to the views of others.   The termly learning topics enable the whole school to engage creatively with different subjects leading to themed school trips. The “Secret Garden” theme was explored in Groombridge Place’s Enchanted Forest, and Fairtrade was explored in a local sweet shop, with a follow up visit from some Ghanaian cocoa farmers who said the children were ‘confident, interested and very knowledgeable’.

The close relationship we share with the Church is integral to the school and we hold daily worship as well as regular Mass services.  We were delighted with a recent SIAS (Statutory Inspection for Anglican Schools) report that stated "there is a thread of prayer that runs through the school, uniting pupils and staff".

The Friends of St Barnabas also foster close relationships with other local churches, for example, the Chair of St Barnabas Friends organises a church youth group which includes young people from different churches who, amongst other useful jobs, painted the school toilets.

A community church after-school club, “Exhilarate” is held monthly in St Barnabas hall, open to all local children and the church group also organise a week’s children’s holiday club in August.

The role of the whole family is fundamental to the school’s ethos. As well as ongoing family outreach the school’s full time FLO organises outings for families under the banner “Time4Us” as well as parenting skills courses. Families from different backgrounds come together on outings with their children, for example to the Seven Sisters Country Park near Eastbourne and on craft workshops.

For more information please read our School Prospectus.