Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Welwyn St Mary’s is an inclusive Church of England primary school where pupils feel safe, happy and a strong sense of belonging. Inspectors found the school ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good, with personal development outstanding. The school’s ‘believe and achieve’ vision is evident in pupils’ kindness, responsibility and articulate, welcoming behaviour. Reading is a high priority from Reception, phonics is taught well, and pupils generally achieve well. Staff identify SEND needs early and provide tailored support, while attendance is high and the wider enrichment offer is extensive. The main area for improvement is that teaching occasionally does not make enough use of what pupils already know, so some activities do not build securely on prior learning and pupils’ knowledge can be less secure. Otherwise, the report highlights strong curriculum planning, effective staff training, thoughtful workload consideration and robust governance. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current headteacher took up post in September 2023. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Inclusive, nurturing community where pupils feel safe and belong
• Ambitious curriculum with clear progression from Reception to Year 6
• High priority on reading with strong phonics teaching and early support
• Rapid and accurate identification of SEND with tailored support
• Outstanding personal development and character education
• Pupils behave well and are articulate, kind and welcoming
• High attendance reflecting positive attitudes
• Extensive clubs, visits and enrichment opportunities
• Strong staff training and consideration of workload
• Governors know the school well and hold leaders to account
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching occasionally fails to use prior-learning information so activities do not consistently build on what pupils know
• Some pupils struggle to make connections and their knowledge is less secure when this happens

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 Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.1% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary 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 Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School had 24.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 16.5% of pupils at Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School received £6,063 and spent £6,132 for each of its 418 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £343,000 (£820 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 Welwyn · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 418 pupils on roll.

What age range does Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School cover?

Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is at 15 London Road, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9DJ.