Newtown School

Newtown School is an inclusive and nurturing infant and nursery school where pupils feel safe, relationships are warm and respectful, and the school’s values of caring, curiosity and courage are evident in daily life. Inspectors found strong provision across the judged areas, with no overall effectiveness grade issued under current arrangements. Pupils behave well, enjoy a broad and ambitious curriculum, and benefit from a clear priority on reading and mathematics, effective SEND support and a well-structured early years environment.

Strengths

• Inclusive and nurturing school culture where values are lived by all
• Warm, respectful relationships help pupils feel safe and supported
• High expectations for behaviour and learning create a positive environment
• Broad and ambitious curriculum is accessible to pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Reading is a clear priority with consistent, well-delivered phonics
• Mathematics teaching builds fluency, number sense and precise vocabulary
• Staff have secure subject knowledge and use questioning effectively
• SEND support is adapted well, including through the dedicated Nest provision
• Early years provision offers a rich environment and strong foundations for Year 1
• Pupils behave well and the school is calm and orderly
• Personal development is prioritised through enrichment, British values and wellbeing support
• Leaders are committed to improvement and are mindful of staff workload
• Governors know the school well and fulfil their statutory duties
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not used consistently across all subjects to identify gaps and misconceptions
• Some pupils do not build securely on prior learning or retain key knowledge over time
• Attendance remains too low for some groups, particularly pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those with English as an additional language
• Persistent absence limits learning and progress for some pupils

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 Newtown School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.4% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Newtown 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 Newtown School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 18.8% of pupils at Newtown School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 Newtown School received £7,606 and spent £7,341 for each of its 211 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £186,000 (£884 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 Chesham · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Newtown School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Newtown School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Newtown School last inspected by Ofsted?

Newtown School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Newtown School have?

Newtown School has 234 pupils on roll.

What age range does Newtown School cover?

Newtown School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Newtown School?

Newtown School is at Berkhampstead Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 3AT.