Tannery Drift School

Tannery Drift School is a good school where pupils are happy, respectful and well behaved, with outstanding provision for behaviour and attitudes and personal development. Pupils respond well to high expectations, build resilience, achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is ambitious and carefully planned from Nursery to Year 4, reading and phonics are taught strongly, pupils with SEND generally progress well, and early years provision helps children become articulate and confident. Leaders and governors share a clear vision and work effectively together, staff feel supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that in a few subjects, learning activities are not always well matched to what pupils already know and can do. As a result, some pupils find tasks too hard and rely on adult support rather than developing subject-specific knowledge and skills independently. This is a maintained first school for pupils aged 3 to 9. It was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under the current inspection framework no overall effectiveness grade is given.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly, respectful and treat each other kindly.
• Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, creating a calm and purposeful atmosphere.
• Pupils show high levels of focus and concentration in lessons.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully planned from Nursery to Year 4.
• Teachers generally have strong subject knowledge and teach a broad range of content.
• Reading and phonics are taught effectively, with targeted support for pupils who need it.
• Pupils with SEND generally progress well through the curriculum.
• Vocabulary development is strong, including in the early years.
• Personal development is outstanding, with pupils taking on responsibilities and developing talents.
• Leaders and governors are ambitious and share a common vision.
• Staff workload is manageable and well-being support is positive.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, learning activities are not well matched to what some pupils already know and can do.
• Some pupils find tasks too hard and rely on adult support rather than working independently.
• Learning tasks do not consistently help pupils build on existing knowledge across the full range of 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 Tannery Drift School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.0% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Tannery Drift 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 Tannery Drift School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.5% 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, 13.1% of pupils at Tannery Drift School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Tannery Drift School received £7,333 and spent £6,734 for each of its 312 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £683,000 (£2,193 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 Royston · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

What is Tannery Drift School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Tannery Drift School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tannery Drift School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Tannery Drift School have?

Tannery Drift School has 320 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tannery Drift School cover?

Tannery Drift School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Tannery Drift School?

Tannery Drift School is at Tannery Drift, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 5DE.