Redbourn Primary School

Redbourn Primary School has moved on well since its previous inspection, which judged it as requiring improvement. All key judgements in this inspection are good, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils are calm, polite and friendly, feel safe, and benefit from a positive culture in which differences are respected. Behaviour is strong, attendance has improved, and pupils have positive attitudes to learning. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and clearly sequenced from early years, with strong reading provision in particular. Phonics is taught well, books are matched to pupils' sounds, and pupils who fall behind receive support to catch up. Personal development is enriched through THRIVE values, leadership roles, the school newspaper and financial education. Leaders and governors have a clear vision and effective systems for checking progress. However, the writing curriculum is relatively new and pupils' grammatical errors and handwriting are not always identified and addressed promptly. For a small number of pupils with SEND, staff do not consistently use the information they are given to adapt teaching, so these pupils are not supported as well as they should be. These are the main areas for improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils are calm, polite, friendly and respectful to each other.
• Pupils feel safe and trust adults to help them quickly.
• Behaviour is strong, with clear routines and high expectations.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and clearly sequenced from early years.
• Reading provision has improved significantly, with effective phonics teaching and well-matched books.
• Pupils who fall behind in reading receive support to catch up.
• Most pupils with SEND have appropriate plans and adaptations to learning.
• Attendance has improved, including for pupils who were persistently absent.
• Personal development is enriched through THRIVE values, leadership roles and financial education.
• Leaders and governors have a clear vision and effective systems for challenge and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing is relatively new; staff do not always identify and address pupils' grammatical errors and poor handwriting promptly.
• A small number of pupils with SEND are not supported well enough because staff do not consistently use the information they are given.
• Teaching does not always take full account of pupils' needs.

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 Redbourn Primary School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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, 3.3% of pupils at Redbourn 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 Redbourn Primary School had 19.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.2% 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, 12.0% of pupils at Redbourn Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Redbourn Primary School received £6,895 and spent £7,100 for each of its 371 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £0 (£0 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 Redbourn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Redbourn Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Redbourn Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Redbourn Primary School have?

Redbourn Primary School has 375 pupils on roll.

What age range does Redbourn Primary School cover?

Redbourn Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Redbourn Primary School?

Redbourn Primary School is at Long Cutt, Redbourn, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 7EX.