Sydenham Primary School

Sydenham Primary School is a caring, welcoming community primary where pupils feel safe and behave exceptionally well. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum, strong teaching subject knowledge and an early years provision that gives children an exceptionally strong start. Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment, trips and responsibilities, and personal development is a particular strength. The school identifies and supports pupils with SEND effectively, and governors provide good challenge and support. The main areas for improvement are precise rather than widespread. Some staff do not consistently maintain high expectations for handwriting, so repeated letter-formation errors can hinder fluent, legible writing. Leaders also lack a clear strategic overview of which interventions are most effective, meaning they cannot always tell which additional support approaches are working best. This was the school’s first routine inspection since January 2015, having previously been exempt as outstanding; it was also the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is a community primary and part of the Leamington Federation with Lighthorne Heath Primary School, with an executive headteacher working across both. Under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and have warm, trusting relationships with staff
• Behaviour is exemplary and the school is calm and orderly
• Children in early years get an exceptionally strong start
• The curriculum is ambitious and clearly sequenced
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and check pupils’ understanding
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported effectively
• Reading and phonics are taught well, with effective support for pupils who fall behind
• Personal development is exceptional, with rich enrichment and responsibility opportunities
• Governors provide effective challenge and support
• Staff feel proud to be part of the school and leaders manage workload well

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not have high enough expectations for handwriting
• Repeated letter-formation errors are not consistently corrected
• Leaders lack a clear strategic overview of which interventions are most effective

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 Sydenham Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Sydenham 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 Sydenham Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.0% 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, 24.2% of pupils at Sydenham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Sydenham Primary School received £7,274 and spent £7,414 for each of its 414 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £25,000 (-£61 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 Leamington Spa · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

What is Sydenham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sydenham Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Sydenham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sydenham Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Sydenham Primary School have?

Sydenham Primary School has 414 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sydenham Primary School cover?

Sydenham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sydenham Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sydenham Primary School?

Sydenham Primary School is at Calder Walk, Sydenham, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 1SA.