Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery is generally performing at the expected standard. Safeguarding is met, and inspectors found a calm, caring school where pupils behave well, feel safe and are well supported. Leaders have secured improvements in reading and attendance, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or disadvantaged backgrounds generally receive effective support and make suitable progress from their starting points. The school is part of The Swan Trust, and the headteacher took up her role in September 2025. Most areas of provision are effective. The curriculum is broad and generally well planned, teaching is typically strong, inclusion work is purposeful, and personal development and wellbeing are well catered for. Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities. Governance and trust support are effective, staff wellbeing is valued, and parents are very positive about the school. The main concern is early years, particularly Nursery, where teaching does not consistently build children's language and knowledge and adult-child interactions vary too much. Leaders have identified this and begun to act. Inspectors also noted that teaching does not always ensure all pupils, including those with SEND or disadvantaged pupils, develop detailed knowledge, and writing, including spelling and grammar, needs further development. Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes remain below national averages, and leaders should continue work to reduce persistent absence.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils typically achieve well across a broad curriculum.
• Phonics teaching is strong and well-trained staff support early reading.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils generally receive effective support and progress well from their starting points.
• Leaders have secured improvement in pupils' reading achievement.
• Attendance is broadly in line with the national average, with robust monitoring and improving persistent absence.
• Pupils behave well, show respect and the school is calm.
• Leaders have created a positive, respectful culture where pupils feel a sense of belonging.
• The curriculum is generally well planned so pupils build knowledge securely over time.
• Teachers typically have strong subject knowledge and explain learning clearly.
• Inclusion is effective, with early identification and productive work with external agencies.
• Leaders are ambitious, reflective and well supported by the trust and governance.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are valued, and training is well matched to school priorities.
• Personal development is well structured, with clubs, trips, leadership roles and online safety education.
• Early years relationships are positive, children are happy and well cared for.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years provision, especially Nursery, does not consistently build children's language or knowledge.
• The quality of adult-child interactions in Nursery varies too much.
• Teaching does not always lead to all pupils, including those with SEND or disadvantaged pupils, developing detailed knowledge and understanding.
• Writing, including spelling and grammar, needs further development and outcomes are below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' achievement is below national averages across reading, writing and mathematics, with large gaps.
• Persistent absence remains an area to address, 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 Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.5% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery 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 Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 2024–25 Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery received £6,163 and spent £6,073 for each of its 447 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £389,000 (£872 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Swan Trust, income was £7,049 and spending £7,479 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.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Woking · Surrey local authority: places and applications

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery is part of The Swan Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Kingfield Primary School Woking
• Goldsworth Primary School Woking
• The Horsell Village School Woking
• The Hermitage Junior School Woking
• The Hermitage Infant School Woking
• Beaufort Primary School Woking
• St John's Primary School Woking
• Knaphill Junior School Woking
• Knaphill Infant School and Nursery Woking

What is Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery have?

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery has 435 pupils on roll.

What age range does Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery cover?

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery?

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery is at Almond Avenue, Barnsbury, Woking, Surrey, GU22 0BB.