Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School

Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School is a small, inclusive church school in Berkhamsted, part of the Castle Church of England Federation. Inspectors found it performing well overall, with strong standards in achievement, attendance and behaviour, and early years. Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of education, especially in the early years, and benefit from a positive, nurturing culture where they feel safe, attend regularly and achieve well in phonics and reading. Staff support pupils with additional needs effectively, and safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of education, particularly in early years.
• Children in early years get off to a flying start and benefit from a highly enabling, well-resourced environment.
• Pupils achieve well in phonics, reading, spelling, handwriting and number facts.
• Staff use well-trained, personalised strategies to support pupils who need additional help.
• Attendance is consistently above national averages, supported by rigorous monitoring and family support.
• Pupils feel a strong sense of belonging and flourish in a highly positive learning culture.
• Lessons run smoothly because staff develop pupils' regulation and emotional literacy, reducing low-level disruption.
• Pupils build secure, kind and respectful relationships and feel safe at school.
• Leaders do not tolerate bullying, discrimination or derogatory language and respond swiftly to maintain an inclusive environment.
• The early years curriculum underpins the whole-school curriculum and prepares children well for Year 1.
• Adults deliver high-quality interactions and track children's development carefully to identify next steps.
• The curriculum is intentionally designed and clearly sequenced so pupils build knowledge and skills.
• Leaders identify pupils' needs swiftly, work closely with families and use external expertise when needed.
• Governance is highly committed, skilled and effective in supporting and challenging leaders.
• Staff enjoy working at the school and leaders are mindful of wellbeing and workload.
• The personal development programme is well planned, progressive and enriched by real-life experiences and visitors.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• A few staff do not consistently follow agreed whole-school teaching strategies, so curriculum delivery is not always consistent.
• Some pupils need to develop more independence to access whole-class teaching and participate fully.
• Pupils have limited opportunities to explore cultures within the wider community, limiting their understanding of diversity.
• Not all staff have the expertise to ensure every pupil accesses the full curriculum and becomes a confident, independent learner.

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 Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Victoria Church of England Infant and 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 Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.2% 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, 9.9% of pupils at Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School received £8,744 and spent £9,783 for each of its 135 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £256,000 (£1,895 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 Berkhamsted · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School have?

Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School has 141 pupils on roll.

What age range does Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School cover?

Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School?

Victoria Church of England Infant and Nursery School is at Prince Edward Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3HA.