Longmeadow Primary School

Longmeadow Primary School is a community primary school that was previously judged to require improvement. Following a period of significant instability, new leadership has brought clear purpose and determination, and an ambitious curriculum is now in place. Pupils are happy and feel safe, behaviour is good, personal development is strong, and early years provision is good. Reading has become a clear priority and pupils are becoming more fluent and confident readers. However, the quality of education and leadership and management still require improvement. Curriculum delivery is too variable, teaching is not consistently effective, and expectations of pupils’ work are sometimes too low. Consequently, too many pupils do not secure the key knowledge they need and are not academically prepared well enough for secondary school. Most pupils with SEND are well supported, attendance is managed rigorously, and safeguarding is effective. Many governors are newly appointed and are developing in their role while supporting the school’s improvement journey.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and value warm relationships with staff.
• Pupils behave well, get on together at social times and lessons are generally calm.
• Personal development is high quality, including health, respect, safety and preparation for modern Britain.
• Early years provision is good, with clear routines, skilled staff and an engaging environment.
• Early reading and phonics are effective, with regular progress checks and catch-up support.
• Staff manage behaviour effectively and attendance support is rigorous.
• Most pupils with SEND access an adapted curriculum successfully, and the ‘explorers’ provision supports bespoke needs well.
• Leaders have a clear sense of purpose and an accurate picture of where further work is required.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery and impact are too variable across the school.
• Expectations of the work pupils produce are inconsistent and sometimes too low.
• Teaching is not consistently effective, and key knowledge is not always presented clearly.
• Some activities do not match the intended aims of the curriculum, so pupils do not secure important knowledge well enough.
• Beyond early years, expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.
• Pupils are not consistently encouraged to take pride in their work or revisit learning when unsure.

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 Longmeadow Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.8% 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, 6.8% of pupils at Longmeadow 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 Longmeadow Primary School had 15.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 37.8% 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, 23.4% of pupils at Longmeadow Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% 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 Longmeadow Primary School received £8,461 and spent £8,729 for each of its 198 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £3,000 (£17 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 Stevenage · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Longmeadow Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Longmeadow Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Longmeadow Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Longmeadow Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Longmeadow Primary School have?

Longmeadow Primary School has 201 pupils on roll.

What age range does Longmeadow Primary School cover?

Longmeadow Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Longmeadow Primary School?

Longmeadow Primary School is at Oaks Cross, Broadwater, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 8LT.