Sandy Lane Primary School

Sandy Lane Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school that is part of Greenshaw Learning Trust, with a nursery and a specially resourced SEND provision for pupils with autism and/or speech, language and communication needs. Inspectors found most areas operating at the expected standard, including attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Overall, pupils are safe, behave well, and benefit from positive relationships, a calm atmosphere, and effective support for SEND and wellbeing. The main concern is achievement, which needs attention. Some pupils do not achieve as well as their peers nationally, and a significant minority have gaps in basic knowledge that limit their progress across the curriculum and their readiness for the next stage of education. Leaders are taking appropriate action, particularly in phonics and mathematics, and pupils with SEND generally make appropriate progress from their starting points, but curriculum delivery remains inconsistent and published outcomes have not yet improved. Next steps are to strengthen curriculum delivery so that more pupils achieve well and produce high-quality work, especially in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and mathematics, and to continue building constructive relationships with parents and the wider community. The trust provides effective support and challenge, and leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s priorities.

Strengths

• Positive relationships and a calm, caring school culture
• Safeguarding standards are met, with effective safeguarding and online safety education
• High expectations for behaviour, consistent routines and orderly lessons
• Early years provision helps children settle quickly and learn well
• Strong inclusion practice, with early identification of SEND and effective support
• Pupils with SEND make positive progress from their individual starting points
• Effective leadership and governance, with clear priorities and trust support
• A coherent personal development programme develops respect, responsibility and safety
• Pupils enjoy enrichment, leadership roles and activities that build confidence and community
• Staff benefit from extensive professional development that builds expertise
• Attendance is monitored closely and supported effectively, with most pupils attending regularly
• Phonics teaching is effective and consistently delivered for pupils at the early stages of reading

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because some pupils do not achieve as well as their peers nationally
• A significant minority of pupils have gaps in key basic knowledge that hinder progress across the curriculum
• Published outcomes have not yet improved and recent improvement work has not had enough time to affect results
• Curriculum delivery remains inconsistent, with variability in teaching approaches
• Some pupils lack sufficient opportunity to develop fundamental learning, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and mathematics
• Some pupils are not consistently well prepared for the next stage of education
• Relationships with parents and the wider community remain variable
• Occasionally, early years staff miss opportunities to model high-quality interactions to deepen children’s learning
• Disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes in mathematics and combined reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages

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 Sandy Lane Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% 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, 5.0% of pupils at Sandy Lane Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Sandy Lane Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.4% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Sandy Lane Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 12 pupils.

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 Sandy Lane Primary School received £7,132 and spent £7,141 for each of its 422 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £348,000 (£825 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Greenshaw Learning Trust, income was £8,062 and spending £7,907 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 Bracknell · Bracknell Forest local authority: places and applications

Sandy Lane Primary School is part of Greenshaw Learning Trust, which runs 39 schools. The nearest others:

• The Brakenhale School Bracknell
• Crown Wood Primary School Bracknell
• Wooden Hill Primary and Nursery School Bracknell
• Wildmoor Heath School Bracknell
• Hartland High School Reading
• Oakbank School Reading
• Broadwater School Godalming
• Greenshaw High School Sutton
• Tweeddale Primary School Carshalton
• Green Wrythe Primary School Carshalton

What is Sandy Lane Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sandy Lane Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Sandy Lane Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sandy Lane Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Sandy Lane Primary School have?

Sandy Lane Primary School has 422 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sandy Lane Primary School cover?

Sandy Lane Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sandy Lane Primary School?

Sandy Lane Primary School is at Sandy Lane, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 2JG.