Valley Road School

Valley Road School continues to perform well as a good school, characterized by caring relationships that nurture pupils' individual personalities. The school's environment supports pupils in engaging with learning actively and happily, and their behavior is commendable. While most pupils achieve high standards across the curriculum, there is room for improvement in teachers' expectations to fully realize students' potential. The curriculum has been improved through collaboration to ensure that content is ambitious and well-structured, although there are challenges in maintaining high-demand tasks in some subjects.

Strengths

• Caring relationships are central to the school culture.
• Pupils are enthusiastic learners and engage actively in their environment.
• Strong emphasis on safeguarding and pupil welfare.
• The curriculum for core subjects is of high quality with excellent teacher subject knowledge.
• Leaders have successfully implemented an effective phonics programme.
• Pupils have access to a rich library that fosters a love for reading.

Areas for Improvement

• Some tasks assigned to pupils are not sufficiently ambitious or challenging.

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 Valley Road School attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.4% 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 Valley Road 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 Valley Road School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.7% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Valley Road School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.6% 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 Valley Road School received £6,793 and spent £7,584 for each of its 165 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £174,000 (-£1,055 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 Henley-On-Thames · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Valley Road School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Valley Road School is Good, from an inspection in May 2022.

When was Valley Road School last inspected by Ofsted?

Valley Road School was last inspected in May 2022.

How many pupils does Valley Road School have?

Valley Road School has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does Valley Road School cover?

Valley Road School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Valley Road School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 94% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Valley Road School?

Valley Road School is at Valley Road, Valley Road School, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1RR.