Ralph Sadleir School

Ralph Sadleir School has been rated as requiring improvement following its recent inspection, reflecting significant challenges in the quality of education, behavior, and leadership. The school has experienced considerable changes in leadership and staff, impacting the consistency and expectations around education delivery. While there have been notable improvements in pupil safety and engagement, with a better understanding of expected behaviors, inconsistencies remain. The new leadership has introduced strategic plans for improvement, and although these are in the early stages, some positive changes in behavior are already being observed.

Strengths

• The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective.
• Pupils with SEND are making progress in line with their peers.
• The systematic approach to supporting reading is comprehensive and effective.
• Pupils feel safe at school and bullying is reported as rare.
• Extra-curricular activities are available and promote pupil participation.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistency in curriculum delivery leads to variable quality of education.
• Behaviour policy is not applied consistently, leading to disruptions.
• Assessment and feedback on pupils' work are limited and ineffective.
• Staff have not received sufficient training to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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 Ralph Sadleir School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 4.0% of pupils at Ralph Sadleir School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Ralph Sadleir School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 10.6% of pupils at Ralph Sadleir School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Ralph Sadleir School received £7,618 and spent £7,778 for each of its 275 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £674,000 (£2,451 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Ware · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Ralph Sadleir School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ralph Sadleir School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Ralph Sadleir School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ralph Sadleir School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Ralph Sadleir School have?

Ralph Sadleir School has 283 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ralph Sadleir School cover?

Ralph Sadleir School for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Ralph Sadleir School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ralph Sadleir School?

Ralph Sadleir School is at Station Road, Puckeridge, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG11 1TF.