St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch

St Mary’s CofE Primary School, Northchurch continues to perform well, maintaining its good rating since its last inspection in 2017. The school is characterized by a welcoming and caring environment where pupils show kindness and respect towards each other. Teachers set high expectations, leading to calm and orderly classrooms, and encouraging students to develop self-belief and social responsibility. The curriculum is broad and engaging, fostering pupil curiosity and a strong enjoyment of reading. However, there are areas for growth, primarily in the phonics instruction, where some staff lack confidence in delivering all components as intended, potentially hindering reading progression for some students.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit kindness and friendliness, welcoming newcomers well.
• Classrooms are calm and orderly, supporting effective learning.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present information clearly.
• Pupils demonstrate enthusiasm for reading and enjoy sharing books.
• Older pupils take on responsibilities and act as positive role models.
• The curriculum is broad and interesting, with effective adaptations for different learner needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not teach all planned elements of the phonics curriculum effectively.
• Leaders are not consistently checking the effectiveness of intervention groups for pupils.

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 CofE Primary School, Northchurch attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.3% 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch 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 CofE Primary School, Northchurch had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.5% 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, 18.6% of pupils at St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 CofE Primary School, Northchurch received £7,132 and spent £6,817 for each of its 215 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £155,000 (£724 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch have?

St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch has 226 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch cover?

St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch?

St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch is at Northchurch, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3QZ.