Markyate Village School and Nursery

Markyate Village School and Nursery is a friendly, welcoming primary school where pupils feel safe and are well cared for. Inspectors found ambitious expectations for all pupils, including pupils with SEND, and pupils generally work hard, behave respectfully and achieve well. The curriculum is well thought out from early years, early reading is taught effectively, and support for pupils with SEND is a particular strength. Personal development is broad, with pupils taking on responsibilities and accessing sports, music, the arts and residential trips. Safeguarding is effective, and governors provide strong support and challenge. The inspection was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and took place after the headteacher started in September 2024. All inspected areas were judged good, although no overall effectiveness grade was given under the arrangements for graded inspections from September 2024. The main areas for improvement are writing and some aspects of curriculum delivery. Expectations for handwriting and sentence construction are not consistent across the curriculum, so some pupils do not write fluently or accurately enough to show what they have learned. In some lessons, teaching does not make the intended learning clear enough or match the curriculum well, meaning pupils do not always secure the core knowledge and vocabulary intended. Some curriculum areas are also at an earlier stage of implementation than the strongest subjects.

Strengths

• Friendly and welcoming school community where pupils feel safe and well cared for
• Ambitious expectations for all pupils, including pupils with SEND
• Respectful and calm behaviour, with positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Well-thought-out curriculum that begins in early years
• Effective early reading teaching, with strong phonics subject knowledge and extra support for pupils who fall behind
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, including accurate identification and effective adaptations
• Broad personal development programme covering relationships, health, safety, respect and tolerance
• Pupils take on leadership roles and access sports, music, arts and residential trips
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Governors provide strong support and challenge, and staff feel valued
• Children in early years settle well and are well prepared for Year 1

Areas for Improvement

• Writing expectations are inconsistent across the curriculum, including letter formation and sentence construction
• Some pupils do not write with the fluency and accuracy needed to demonstrate their learning across subjects
• Teaching is not always well matched to the curriculum, so intended learning is sometimes unclear
• Some activities do not help pupils remember key learning, so intended knowledge and vocabulary are not always secured
• Some curriculum areas are at an earlier stage of implementation than the strongest subjects

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 Markyate Village School and Nursery attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.2% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Markyate Village School and Nursery 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 Markyate Village School and Nursery had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.2% 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, 12.8% of pupils at Markyate Village School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Markyate Village School and Nursery received £6,837 and spent £7,348 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £210,000 (£1,037 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 St Albans · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Markyate Village School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Markyate Village School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Markyate Village School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Markyate Village School and Nursery was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Markyate Village School and Nursery have?

Markyate Village School and Nursery has 211 pupils on roll.

What age range does Markyate Village School and Nursery cover?

Markyate Village School and Nursery for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Markyate Village School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Markyate Village School and Nursery?

Markyate Village School and Nursery is at Cavendish Road, Markyate, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 8PT.