SCHOOL PROFILE

St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 117456
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 240 Published school capacity
Capacity used 77.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

10 June 2025
Latest published outcome Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

26 February 2020
Ungraded inspection School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published 18 March 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Hertfordshire
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 186 179 full-time · 7 part-time
Female pupils 84 45.2% of pupils
Male pupils 102 54.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

18.8%
6.0 pts below England
School 18.8%
Stevenage 22.7%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

44.6%
24.3 pts above England
School 44.6%
Stevenage 19.5%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

12.9%
11.9 pts above England
School 12.9%
Stevenage 2.0%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
34.4%
64
Any other White background
20.4%
38
African
17.7%
33
Any other Asian background
4.3%
8
Any other Mixed background
4.3%
8
Indian
3.8%
7
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 25.8% 48 of 186 pupils
5.0 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 25.8%
Stevenage 26.1%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.7% 33 pupils
England 14.8% 3.0 pts above
EHC plans 8.1% 15 pupils
England 6.0% 2.0 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 29
Speech, language & communication 9
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
Specific learning difficulty 3
Moderate learning difficulty 1
Physical disability 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

31.0% 29.4 pts below England
School 31.0%
Stevenage 48.4%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

66.0%

7.8 pts below England

School 66.0%
Stevenage 65.1%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

52.0%

18.3 pts below England

School 52.0%
Stevenage 58.2%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

34.0%

38.0 pts below England

School 34.0%
Stevenage 61.0%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.23%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.99 pts lower than England
School 5.23%
Stevenage 6.82%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

14.29%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

1.53 pts lower than England
School 14.29%
Stevenage 18.30%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Stevenage 2.27%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

77.5% 10.7 pts below England
St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery
77.5%
Stevenage
89.6%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information