St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton

St Bartholomew’s is a small, close-knit Church of England primary school where pupils are happy, safe and well cared for. Inspectors found good provision across the key judgements, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years and quality of education. The school has a strong community feel, high attendance, polite pupils, effective safeguarding and positive relationships with parents. The curriculum has been substantially revised, phonics and reading are strong, pupils with SEND are well supported, and staff work well together. Governors provide a good balance of support and challenge, and staff value the training and workload consideration they receive. The main areas to improve are in teaching and cultural development. Teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding, so some activities fail to build on prior learning or consolidate knowledge, and some pupils’ work, especially written responses and drawing, is not as strong as it could be. Pupils also have limited opportunities to learn about cultures and communities beyond their own, so their understanding of cultural diversity is less developed than other aspects of personal development. This was the school’s first routine inspection since before the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2012, when it was judged outstanding and then exempt from routine inspection. Since September 2024, schools no longer receive an overall effectiveness grade; the report grades each key judgement as good.

Strengths

• Strong community ethos where pupils feel happy, safe and welcome
• Pupils behave well, are polite and show excellent manners
• Broad curriculum across all year groups, including the full national curriculum and early years requirements
• Effective phonics teaching with strong early reading and fluent older readers
• Well-supported pupils with SEND who participate equally in learning
• High attendance with swift follow-up on absence
• Strong personal development, including reflective PSHE and respect for others
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Knowledgeable governors who provide support and challenge
• Positive relationships with parents and carers
• Staff value training and consideration of workload
• Range of extra-curricular clubs and musical opportunities
• Good early years practice, including turn-taking and attentive listening
• Teachers and teaching assistants work well together

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding
• Some learning activities do not build effectively on prior learning or consolidate understanding
• Some pupils’ work, including written responses and drawing, is not consistently high quality
• Limited opportunities for pupils to learn about cultures and communities beyond their own
• Pupils sometimes lose concentration when teaching does not capture their interest

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 Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.3% 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 Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton 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 Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.1% 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, 12.4% of pupils at St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton received £7,276 and spent £7,724 for each of its 105 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £55,000 (£522 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).

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What is St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton last inspected by Ofsted?

St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton have?

St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton has 105 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton cover?

St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton?

St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton is at Common Field, Wigginton, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6EP.