Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery

Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery is a caring and inclusive community school where pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well. Inspectors found notable strengths in reading, early years provision, support for pupils with SEND, personal development and leadership. The school has high expectations and well-established routines, and pupils benefit from a broad range of experiences and clubs. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and safeguarding arrangements were found to be effective. However, some subjects are not delivered to the same high standard as others. In these areas, teachers' subject knowledge and assessment are not precise enough, so pupils sometimes develop misconceptions or move on before they are ready. Some newer subject curriculums also lack clear endpoints. Attendance is improving but remains a concern for some pupils.

Strengths

• Caring and inclusive culture where pupils feel safe and valued
• High expectations for achievement and behaviour with well-established routines
• Strong focus on reading and phonics with early support for pupils at risk of falling behind
• Curriculum is well designed and sequenced in most subjects
• Effective early years provision that prepares children well for Year 1
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and fully included in school life
• Well-structured personal development programme with a wide range of clubs
• Pupils behave well and take pride in leadership roles
• Leaders and governors are committed, and staff feel well supported
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is weaker in some subjects because teachers lack secure subject knowledge
• Teachers do not always identify and address pupils' misconceptions quickly
• Assessment is not precise enough in some subjects to identify gaps in knowledge
• Some newer subject curriculums lack clear endpoints for what pupils should learn and when
• Some teachers do not routinely check understanding before moving learning on
• Attendance remains too low for some pupils, although it is improving

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 Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Galley Hill 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 Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% 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, 20.9% of pupils at Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery received £7,026 and spent £6,923 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £281,000 (£669 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 Hemel Hempstead · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery have?

Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery has 426 pupils on roll.

What age range does Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery cover?

Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery?

Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery is at Galley Hill, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3JY.