St Nicholas Elstree Church of England VA Primary School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
92
AGES
3 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Voluntary aided school
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0300 123 4043

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Requires Improvement
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(05/10/2023)
Full Report - All Reports
25%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
St Nicholas Close
Elstree
WD6 3EW
02089533015

School Description

Your well-established leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. You and your leaders continue to ensure that staff develop the skills they need to move the school forward. Staff say that they enjoy working at St Nicholas Elstree Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary school. The staff team works well together and demonstrates the necessary passion and commitment to improve the school further. Since the previous inspection in 2014, standards have remained at the national average and, as a result, by the end of Year 6 most pupils are well placed to move successfully to secondary school. Parents are very supportive of the school and almost all of the 56 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, would recommend the school to others. Parents stated that they are very happy with the quality of teaching provided and in particular with how their children’s confidence has grown since they started at the school. One parent summed up the views of many by saying: ‘I am happy with the effort the school puts in every day for children.’ Pupils say that they enjoy school and the range of subjects offered. They particularly enjoy English and mathematics but also subjects such as art, science and physical education. They talked enthusiastically about the range of visits that the school provides. These events support pupils to become even more interested in the topics that they are learning about. One pupil explained to me how visiting the Science Museum to see rockets had made him ‘really want to write about them’. You and your leadership team have prioritised the areas of development identified in the previous inspection. This has meant reviewing the curriculum so that pupils can practise their writing skills across a wider variety of subjects. It is evident that this is having an impact on pupils’ progress towards the national expected standards. Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ handwriting and this is resulting in pupils beginning to join their letters effectively in key stage 1 as well as supporting more accurate spelling. You are rightly trialling an approach to improve pupils’ use of more adventurous vocabulary in their writing. This is already improving the quality of writing further for some pupils. The work that you have done to support pupils in developing resilience in learning is improving their attitudes to learning. Teachers talk about what pupils need to do to be successful in learning and pupils apply these skills in lessons. This was a strength identified at the previous inspection and remains so. Pupils listen to their teachers attentively and are fully engaged in their learning. You work effectively in partnership with the local authority advisers, who support you in analysing pupils’ performance information and improving teaching and learning. Similarly, you value the partnership with diocesan professionals, who have helped develop the school’s approaches to religious education. This collaborative, outward approach to school improvement is supporting the school to raise its expectations further and improve pupils’ progress. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors have developed a positive safeguarding culture in the school and all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Thorough checks are made to ensure that all staff and volunteers are suitable to work with pupils. Governors take their role in safeguarding very seriously and monitor the school’s safeguarding procedures regularly. They have produced appropriate checklists to support you and your leaders in monitoring the work that the school does to keep pupils safe. As a result, there is consistent and rigorous practice in approaches to safeguarding across the school. The administration staff, in particular, are appreciative of this support in carrying out their roles and say it helps them to be clear about what is expected. You ensure that staff are appropriately trained and kept up to date about the latest guidance to keep children safe from harm. As the designated safeguarding lead, you ensure that there is appropriate cover in the school to carry out this important role in your absence. As a result, there are three additional leads who also carry out the role effectively. Leaders provide update training for staff to ensure that they are clear about recording and reporting incidents. This has developed adults’ confidence in making decisions about what and how to report any concerns that they have. Your chosen approach to the reporting of incidents is also supporting the clear recording of concerns and the actions you take to follow these up. This is because all leaders can access appropriate information quickly and easily. Pupils say that they feel safe and that behaviour is good in the school. They like the rewards received for positive behaviour, but also clearly understand teachers’ expectations and what happens if they do not meet them. This supports the continued good behaviour in the school. Pupils can identify what bullying is, including cyber bullying, and feel strongly that there are adults in school who they can talk to if they are worried about anything. All pupils who responded to Ofsted’s online pupil survey stated that they would be happy to recommend their school to a friend. Parents also agree that pupils are safe at St Nicholas Elstree Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. One parent commented for many by saying: ‘I know my children are safe and happy to be at school when I leave them.’ Inspection findings I identified specific lines of enquiry to check that the school remains good. The first key line of enquiry was to explore how the curriculum, including the teaching of phonics, was supporting the progress of pupils to achieve well in writing. This was because pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 2 in writing was significantly below national averages, and in the bottom 10% nationally, in 2017. Writing opportunities have increased since school leaders reviewed the curriculum. Pupils now have the basic skills and knowledge to apply to all subject areas, such as when writing newspaper reports about historical events. This is enabling them to practise and embed their writing skills and also helping them to acquire and understand important knowledge from other subjects. Pupils in all year groups are making more rapid progress in writing as a result of the work that the school is undertaking. This includes collaborative work with the local authority to ensure the judgements teachers make about pupils’ achievement are accurate. Pupils are developing particularly well the technical aspects of spelling, handwriting and punctuation. This is supporting the improving progress that they are making in writing. The number of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics at the end of Year 1 has fallen for three years. However, the school’s current assessment information shows that pupils are now making better progress with their phonics skills. This is the result of a better match of teaching to pupils’ needs and teachers’ increased expectations of what pupils and children can achieve, particularly in the early years. However, you and your leaders acknowledge that there is still more work to do to ensure that pupils and children achieve as well as they can in developing their phonics skills. The second line of enquiry was to investigate how the curriculum in the early years is ensuring good progress for all children, particularly in the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. This is because there has been a three-year decline in children’s outcomes at the end of early years.

St Nicholas Elstree Church of England VA Primary School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>25, "agree"=>63, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>31, "agree"=>63, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>19, "agree"=>69, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
My Child Has Not Been Bullied Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"my_child_has_not_been_bullied"=>63, "strongly_agree"=>6, "agree"=>19, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>25, "agree"=>44, "disagree"=>19, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
I Have Not Raised Any Concerns Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"i_have_not_raised_any_concerns"=>19, "strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>19, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>25, "agree"=>0, "disagree"=>25, "strongly_disagree"=>25, "dont_know"=>25} UNLOCK Figures based on 10 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>13, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>19, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>19} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>19, "agree"=>56, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>25, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>25, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>25, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>25, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>19, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>13, "agree"=>63, "disagree"=>19, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023
Yes No {"yes"=>75, "no"=>25} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 05-10-2023

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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