Oxhey Wood Primary School

Oxhey Wood Primary School is a highly inclusive and purposeful school where pupils feel safe, behave well and are supported to succeed. Safeguarding is effective, and the school is particularly strong in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Leaders know the school well, act quickly on weaknesses, and work closely with a well-informed trust and governing body. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported, and the school’s pastoral care and extra-curricular programme are notable strengths. The main priorities lie in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and early years, which are currently meeting expectations rather than reaching the strongest standard. Many pupils arrive with varied starting points, including limited English, and outcomes in Reception and the Year 1 phonics screening check are below average. Some pupils also have gaps in foundational skills such as phonics and handwriting, although recent improvements are beginning to close these gaps. By the end of Year 6, pupils achieve above average in reading, writing and mathematics, including disadvantaged pupils, and they are well prepared for their next steps. Overall, this is a strong and improving school with clear capacity to address the remaining priorities. Leaders should continue strengthening foundational teaching, especially phonics and handwriting, and continue developing early years practice so that even more children are ready for later learning.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Attendance and behaviour are strong; pupils are calm, respectful and committed to learning, and bullying is rare.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with swift identification of needs and effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with rigorous quality assurance, swift action on weaknesses, and well-informed trustees and governors.
• Staff development is prioritised, leading to high morale and a strong sense of belonging.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with a well-planned extra-curricular programme and high participation from SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils develop character, confidence and responsibility through pupil voice, clubs, trips and PSHE.
• Year 6 outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are above average, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with SEND receive excellent support and access a carefully adapted curriculum.
• Pastoral care is highly effective in supporting mental wellbeing and overcoming barriers to learning.
• Early years staff build strong relationships with families and help children settle quickly.
• Teachers use effective strategies, including modelling vocabulary and adapting tasks, to help pupils access learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is at the expected standard rather than strong, with Reception and Year 1 phonics outcomes below average.
• Some pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge and skills, particularly phonics and handwriting.
• Improvements to phonics, handwriting and early years practice need more time to become fully embedded.
• Leaders should continue strengthening the teaching of foundational knowledge and skills so more pupils achieve well across the curriculum.
• Leaders should continue supporting highly effective early years teaching to improve all children’s readiness for later learning.

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 Oxhey Wood Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Oxhey Wood 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 Oxhey Wood Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.3% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Oxhey Wood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% 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 Oxhey Wood Primary School received £7,232 and spent £7,165 for each of its 387 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £285,000 (£737 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Agora Learning Partnership, income was £7,271 and spending £7,551 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

Oxhey Wood Primary School is part of Agora Learning Partnership, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Warren Dell Primary School Watford
• Bromet Primary School Watford
• The Orchard Primary School Watford
• Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery Watford
• Meryfield Primary School Borehamwood
• Creswick Academy Welwyn Garden City
• Waterside Academy Welwyn Garden City
• Wilbury Junior School Letchworth Garden City
• The Grange Academy Letchworth Garden City

What is Oxhey Wood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oxhey Wood Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Oxhey Wood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Oxhey Wood Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Oxhey Wood Primary School have?

Oxhey Wood Primary School has 387 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oxhey Wood Primary School cover?

Oxhey Wood Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Oxhey Wood Primary School?

Oxhey Wood Primary School is at Oxhey Drive, South Oxhey, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD19 7SL.