Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School

Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School is a welcoming, caring community school where pupils feel safe, behave well and achieve well. Inspectors found the school good across all key areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher took up post in September 2023. The school has an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum and a strong focus on reading from the early years. Pupils benefit from effective support for special educational needs and/or disabilities, a calm and positive behaviour culture, and a wide range of enrichment activities, leadership roles, clubs and trips. Staff feel well supported by leaders, and governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are attendance and quality assurance. Some pupils still miss too many days of school and therefore miss important learning. The school also does not yet evaluate consistently enough the impact of curriculum changes and other improvements, so it is not always clear what is working well and what needs further development.

Strengths

• Welcoming, caring and safe environment where pupils feel supported
• Pupils learn and achieve well and rise to high expectations
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum from early years to Year 6
• Strong reading focus with early phonics and effective intervention
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Pupils behave well and low-level disruption is rare
• Wide range of enrichment activities, clubs, trips and leadership roles
• Early years provision develops curiosity, creativity and communication well
• Staff feel well supported by leaders who consider workload and well-being
• Governors know the school well and provide proactive support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils still miss too many days of school, creating gaps in learning
• The school needs to develop its approach with parents and carers to improve attendance
• The school does not consistently evaluate the implementation and impact of curriculum changes
• Quality assurance of actions and improvements is not yet consistent enough

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 Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery 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 Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School received £6,105 and spent £5,473 for each of its 212 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £381,000 (£1,804 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 Bishop'S Stortford · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School have?

Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School cover?

Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School?

Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School is at School Lane, Henham, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM22 6BP.