Priors Wood Primary School

Priors Wood Primary is a friendly, welcoming mainstream primary with 222 pupils and an above-average proportion of pupils receiving SEN support. Inspectors found warm relationships, strong pastoral care and a rich personal-development programme that help pupils feel safe, behave well and take part fully, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Safeguarding standards are met. The curriculum has been strengthened since the last inspection and is ambitious in most subjects, with a strong focus on language and early reading, writing and mathematics; early years provision is well planned and children progress well. Most areas of the school’s work meet expected standards, and personal development and wellbeing is a particular strength. However, achievement needs attention: phonics screening attainment is below average, disadvantaged pupils’ reading and writing and the proportion working at higher levels are below national averages, and the quality of work in books, especially writing, is variable. Some teaching adaptations and tasks are not consistently well matched to pupils’ needs, targets for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND lack precision, and leaders’ scrutiny of some areas is not sharp enough to drive improvement as effectively as it could.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing provision is strong, with an ambitious PSHE and RE curriculum and excellent pupils’ understanding of equality and diversity.
• A carefully crafted wider-opportunities programme, including trips and clubs, ensures disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND participate fully.
• Warm, trusting relationships and effective attendance work help pupils feel safe, attend regularly and behave well.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced in most subjects, with a strong focus on language and early reading, writing and mathematics.
• Early years provision is well planned, with a strong language focus; children progress well and are prepared for Year 1.
• Inclusion is effective: needs are identified early, specialist advice is sought, pastoral care is strong and staff are well trained.
• Governance and leadership are effective, staff wellbeing is supported, parents are highly positive and the school is outward-facing.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Many pupils achieve well; pupils with SEND make progress, reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6 are in line with national averages, and most pupils read fluently by the end of Year 2.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention: phonics screening attainment is below average, and disadvantaged pupils’ reading and writing and higher-level attainment are below national averages.
• The quality of work in pupils’ books is variable, with particular weaknesses in writing, and some pupils do not develop essential phonics and writing knowledge.
• Occasionally, teachers’ adaptations and task design are not well matched to pupils’ needs, which hinders some pupils’ progress.
• Targets in learning plans for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND lack precision, limiting the effectiveness of support.
• Leaders’ scrutiny and analysis of some aspects of the school’s work are less clear, making improvement actions less impactful.
• In one or two subjects the curriculum is newer and staff training is still being embedded.

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 Priors Wood Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% 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 Priors Wood 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 Priors Wood Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 19.0% of pupils at Priors Wood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% 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 Priors Wood Primary School received £6,878 and spent £7,035 for each of its 226 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £206,000 (£911 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 Ware · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Priors Wood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Priors Wood Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Priors Wood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Priors Wood Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Priors Wood Primary School have?

Priors Wood Primary School has 231 pupils on roll.

What age range does Priors Wood Primary School cover?

Priors Wood Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Priors Wood Primary School?

Priors Wood Primary School is at Cozens Road, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 7HZ.