Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery remains a good school, known for its welcoming and nurturing environment. Pupils thrive academically and socially, forming strong relationships with staff and peers while feeling safe and supported. The school offers a well-rounded curriculum that encourages pupils to develop essential skills and behaviours, such as resilience and effective communication. Most pupils enjoy learning and engage in various extracurricular activities that contribute to their personal growth. However, some areas need improvement, particularly in ensuring all subjects have clearly defined learning outcomes to support future learning effectively. Additionally, while the school prioritizes support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), there are concerns regarding the adequacy of support plans for those with complex needs, which may hinder their achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils develop strong relationships with staff and peers.
• The curriculum is well-rounded and helps pupils achieve well.
• Staff are well trained and knowledgeable in their subjects.
• Pupils enjoy a variety of extracurricular activities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clear curriculum content to guide future learning.
• Support plans for some pupils with SEND do not accurately reflect their needs.

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 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.2% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery had 18.7 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, 10.7% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery received £6,398 and spent £6,411 for each of its 339 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £155,000 (£458 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 Bushey · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery have?

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery has 346 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery cover?

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery?

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery is at Merry Hill Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 1SU.