Hertford Primary School

Hertford Primary School is a welcoming and harmonious school where pupils feel secure and are well supported. Inspectors found strong provision across the board, with personal development, leadership and early years standing out as exceptionally strong. Pupils benefit from high expectations, expert staff, a rich wider offer and a well-established reading and phonics approach. The school has managed the recent merger of the infant and junior schools well, maintaining a clear vision and effective governance. The main areas for improvement concern how consistently staff check pupils' understanding and use that to adapt work. In some lessons, tasks can be too easy or too hard, which can lead to lost concentration and gaps in learning. In a small number of foundation subjects, the essential knowledge pupils need is not fully defined, so achievement is less secure than in the strongest subjects. This was the first inspection since Hertford Junior School joined Hertford Infant School to form Hertford Primary School in September 2024, and the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Under the current inspection framework, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded.

Strengths

• Warm, respectful and welcoming school culture
• Pupils feel secure and trust staff to help
• Exceptionally high-quality wider opportunities and clubs
• High expectations for academic achievement and personal development
• Expert staff balance nurture and challenge well
• Strong support for pupils with barriers to learning and attendance
• Clear behaviour routines and values taught from Reception
• Strong reading and phonics provision with tailored support
• Secure teacher subject knowledge and effective use of resources
• Quick identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Excellent start in Reception and strong preparation for key stage 1
• Exceptional personal development offer, including arts, sport and life skills
• Effective governance and accurate understanding of strengths and challenges
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding during lessons
• Work sometimes too easy or too hard, leading to lost concentration and learning gaps
• Assessment checks not used well enough to inform future learning
• Essential knowledge not fully identified in a small minority of foundation subjects
• Some pupils have gaps in wider curriculum learning and do not achieve as well as they could

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 Hertford Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.2% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Hertford Primary 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 Hertford Primary School had 20.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% 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, 26.8% of pupils at Hertford Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Hertford Primary School received £8,667 and spent £8,416 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £160,000 (-£780 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).

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All schools in Brighton · Brighton and Hove local authority: places and applications

What is Hertford Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hertford Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Hertford Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hertford Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Hertford Primary School have?

Hertford Primary School has 205 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hertford Primary School cover?

Hertford Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hertford Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hertford Primary School?

Hertford Primary School is at Lynchet Close, Brighton, BN1 7FP.