St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School

St Mary’s Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School has been graded as good overall, reflecting continuity in its performance since the previous inspection in May 2018. The school fosters a warm and friendly environment where pupils feel safe and engage enthusiastically with their learning. The curriculum is broad, promoting a range of subjects while placing a strong emphasis on reading and personal development. Notably, the school has prioritized staff well-being and has effective safeguarding measures in place.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and have a good work ethic.
• High expectations from teachers lead to good behavior and a safe learning environment.
• A broad and interesting curriculum helps prepare pupils for secondary school.
• Effective reading programs ensure pupils catch up quickly when needed.
• Support for pupils with SEND is generally strong, enabling them to achieve well.
• A comprehensive personal development program teaches British values and inclusivity.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum plans are broad, complicating lesson planning and assessment for non-subject specialist teachers.
• Not all pupils with SEND have clear, specific targets, making tracking progress challenging.

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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.6% 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, 0.8% of pupils at St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior 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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School had 22.0 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, 15.6% of pupils at St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School received £7,277 and spent £7,094 for each of its 231 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £202,000 (£872 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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School have?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School has 231 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School cover?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School is at Heath Drive, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 0RL.