Lanchester Primary School

Lanchester Primary School continues to uphold the standards established in its previous inspection, demonstrating effective leadership and community spirit. Pupils are happy, engaged, and well-behaved, benefiting from a supportive environment that fosters confidence and involvement in school values. The school is committed to the academic and social development of all students, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they achieve their potential alongside their peers. Despite recent leadership changes, the school has made significant strides in improving the quality of education and maintaining strong attendance rates.

Strengths

• Pupils have a positive attitude towards learning and are engaged in school activities.
• The school successfully supports pupils with SEND, allowing them to learn well alongside their peers.
• The curriculum is well-structured, helping pupils build knowledge progressively.
• There is a strong emphasis on reading, with high-quality texts introduced from early years.
• Staff effectively manage pupil behavior and encourage a positive school culture.
• Leaders are supportive of staff well-being and work collaboratively to drive improvements.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teaching activities do not effectively help pupils practice and secure their knowledge and skills.

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 Lanchester Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.8% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Lanchester 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 Lanchester Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.9% 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, 11.4% of pupils at Lanchester Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 2024–25 Lanchester Primary School received £6,952 and spent £6,572 for each of its 334 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £6,000 (-£17 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Danes Educational Trust, income was £7,961 and spending £7,847 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 Watford · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

Lanchester Primary School is part of Danes Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Ascot Road Primary School Watford
• Croxley Danes School Rickmansworth
• St Clement Danes School Rickmansworth
• Elstree Screen Arts Academy Borehamwood
• Jupiter Primary School Hemel Hempstead
• De Havilland Primary School Hatfield
• Onslow St Audrey's School Hatfield
• Chancellor's School Hatfield
• The Beaconsfield School Beaconsfield
• Roselands Primary School Hoddesdon

What is Lanchester Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Lanchester Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lanchester Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Lanchester Primary School have?

Lanchester Primary School has 298 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lanchester Primary School cover?

Lanchester Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

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

Where is Lanchester Primary School?

Lanchester Primary School is at Hempstead Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 3HD.