Commonswood Primary & Nursery School

Commonswood Primary and Nursery School is performing well, maintaining its previous 'Good' rating during this inspection. The school offers a broad curriculum that is engaging for pupils and encourages a strong love of learning, especially in reading and personal development. Significant highlights include the strong sense of community within the school, with pupils exhibiting pride in their achievements and participation in a variety of extracurricular activities. The foundational stage is particularly noteworthy, as children are effectively prepared for their future education with an exciting and well-structured curriculum. While the overall quality of education is commendable, there are areas for improvement in the delivery of the curriculum in certain subjects. A small number of teachers are still developing their understanding of how to implement and assess the curriculum as intended, leading to inconsistent outcomes in knowledge retention across subjects. Additionally, communication with parents remains a school focus, as some parents feel they need more clarity on their children's learning and the school's operations.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit strong pride in their school and actively participate in a variety of activities.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced, helping pupils achieve good outcomes.
• Teaching of reading is prioritized, leading to strong literacy skills among pupils.
• The early years provision is outstanding, preparing children effectively for their next educational stages.
• Pupils are taught to respect each other and resolve conflicts, demonstrating good behaviour and attitudes.
• Leaders have developed a comprehensive personal development curriculum that prepares pupils for life in modern Britain.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack sufficient understanding of how to deliver and assess the curriculum, affecting knowledge retention.
• Communication with parents requires improvement, as some feel unaware of their children's learning and school operations.

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 Commonswood Primary & Nursery School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Commonswood Primary & Nursery 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 Commonswood Primary & Nursery School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.8% 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, 18.8% of pupils at Commonswood Primary & Nursery 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 Commonswood Primary & Nursery School received £6,403 and spent £6,293 for each of its 406 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £544,000 (£1,341 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 Welwyn Garden City · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Commonswood Primary & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Commonswood Primary & Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Commonswood Primary & Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Commonswood Primary & Nursery School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Commonswood Primary & Nursery School have?

Commonswood Primary & Nursery School has 410 pupils on roll.

What age range does Commonswood Primary & Nursery School cover?

Commonswood Primary & Nursery School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Commonswood Primary & Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Commonswood Primary & Nursery School?

Commonswood Primary & Nursery School is at The Commons, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL7 4RU.