Kenilworth Primary School

Kenilworth Primary School is a warm, inclusive school where pupils feel safe, valued and well supported. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school reaches a strong standard in attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Children get off to a positive start in Reception, attendance is improving through targeted support, pupils behave well and contribute to a calm school atmosphere, and inclusion is woven through school life so that pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those facing barriers receive tailored help. Personal development is deeply embedded, and pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life beyond school. The school is performing at the expected standard in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. Pupils typically achieve well from their individual starting points and many overcome complex barriers, but published national test outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics remain below national averages. Persistent absence and overall absence are above national averages, and the latest data show wide disadvantages gaps in writing and mathematics. Leaders have an accurate view of the school, have restructured the senior leadership team and strengthened systems for assessment, behaviour, attendance and monitoring. However, work remains to embed oracy and subject-specific vocabulary consistently across subjects and to help pupils retain, connect and articulate learning more deeply across the wider curriculum. This was a full inspection in June 2026. Since the last inspection, a new headteacher and senior leadership team have been appointed. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans, serves an area with above-average deprivation, and many pupils join at different points in their education with complex barriers to learning. The school’s strong pastoral and inclusion work is a notable foundation, and the next steps focus on strengthening curriculum consistency, spoken language and pupils’ depth of understanding beyond reading, writing and mathematics.

Strengths

• Warm and inclusive school community with respectful relationships.
• Pupils feel safe and trust adults to deal with bullying and unkind behaviour effectively.
• Attendance is improving because leaders analyse patterns and provide targeted support.
• Pupils behave well, self-regulate successfully and contribute to a calm, purposeful atmosphere.
• Early years gives children a strong start in communication, language, early reading, writing, mathematics and personal development.
• Inclusion is embedded, with tailored support for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those facing barriers.
• Personal development and wellbeing are deeply embedded and prepare pupils well for life beyond school.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding thoughtfully to widen opportunities and monitor impact.
• The curriculum is logically sequenced, and teaching is particularly strong in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have strengthened assessment, behaviour, attendance, monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Staff value leaders’ approachability and consideration of workload and wellbeing.
• Governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Safeguarding standards are met through an open and positive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages.
• Persistent absence and overall absence remain above national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ performance gaps in writing and mathematics are wide in the latest data.
• Oracy and subject-specific vocabulary are not yet embedded consistently across all curriculum subjects.
• Pupils do not always connect or articulate their learning in as much depth across the wider curriculum.
• Achievement and curriculum and teaching are at the expected standard, with further consistency needed.
• Leadership and governance are at the expected standard, with oracy and curriculum consistency still key priorities.
• Some pupils do not routinely recall and connect previous learning across 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 Kenilworth Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.4% 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, 3.2% of pupils at Kenilworth 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 Kenilworth Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.3% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Kenilworth Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.6% 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 Kenilworth Primary School received £7,828 and spent £8,008 for each of its 207 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £103,000 (£497 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 Borehamwood · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Kenilworth Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kenilworth Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Kenilworth Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kenilworth Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Kenilworth Primary School have?

Kenilworth Primary School has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kenilworth Primary School cover?

Kenilworth Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 37% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kenilworth Primary School?

Kenilworth Primary School is at Kenilworth Drive, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1QL.