Codicote Church of England Primary School

Codicote Church of England Primary School is a happy, inclusive and high-achieving school where pupils are proud of their school, feel safe and are enthusiastic learners. Inspectors found behaviour to be exemplary across year groups, with pupils showing very high levels of mutual respect and taking part confidently in school life. Pupils' personal development is a particular strength: they learn to problem-solve, persevere and show empathy, and they benefit from a wide range of clubs, leadership roles and democratic opportunities. Attendance is high, safeguarding is effective, and pupils are well supported by staff. The curriculum is well planned from early years upwards, and reading is prioritised effectively, with pupils who struggle supported quickly to catch up. Children get off to a positive start in early years and are well prepared for Year 1. Leaders have managed a period of expansion proactively, helping new pupils settle quickly and pioneering support for pupils' resilience, confidence and self-esteem. Governors and leaders are committed and fulfil their statutory duties well. There are still areas to improve. In some foundation subjects, the work set is not consistently ambitious enough, which limits how deeply pupils develop their knowledge. For a few pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, targets are not precisely matched to their specific needs. Early years provision also sometimes misses opportunities to extend children's learning further. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, following a long period of exemption after its previous outstanding judgement, and the school is in the process of expanding to become two-form entry.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and enthusiastic about school
• Behaviour is exemplary across every year group
• Pupils show very high levels of mutual respect and make firm friendships
• Personal development builds problem-solving, perseverance and empathy
• Pupils take ownership through leadership roles, councils and democratic decisions
• A wide range of clubs, music, sports and wider opportunities is available
• Reading is prioritised and struggling pupils are quickly supported
• The curriculum is well sequenced from early years upwards
• Pupils produce high-quality work in reading, writing and mathematics
• Early years children listen well, use new vocabulary well and are prepared for Year 1
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and mostly achieve well
• Leaders have managed expansion proactively and new pupils settle quickly
• Attendance is high and absence is addressed swiftly
• Governors and leaders fulfil statutory and safeguarding duties well
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some foundation subjects are not consistently ambitious, limiting the depth of pupils' knowledge
• For a few pupils with SEND, targets are not precisely matched to their specific needs
• Early years sometimes misses opportunities to extend children's learning further

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 Codicote Church of England Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.8% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Codicote Church of England 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 Codicote Church of England Primary School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.1% 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, 5.4% of pupils at Codicote Church of England Primary 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 Codicote Church of England Primary School received £7,139 and spent £7,070 for each of its 265 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £297,000 (£1,119 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 Hitchin · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Codicote Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Codicote Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Codicote Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Codicote Church of England Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Codicote Church of England Primary School have?

Codicote Church of England Primary School has 276 pupils on roll.

What age range does Codicote Church of England Primary School cover?

Codicote Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Codicote Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Codicote Church of England Primary School?

Codicote Church of England Primary School is at Meadow Way, Codicote, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 8YL.