Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #330 in Hertfordshire public Top 92% UK

Holywell Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Coert Van Straaten

location_onWatford, WD18 6LL

language Visit Website phone 1923225188

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2023

groups

Students

232

school

Expected Standard

33%

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Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

Holywell Primary School is a Community school primary school in Watford, serving ages 3-11. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Ranks in the top 92% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Holywell Primary School is a community school in Watford, Hertfordshire, admitting pupils aged 3-11. The school has approximately 184 pupils on roll, of whom 33% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 33% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #330 of 359 primaries in Hertfordshire and #14,056 of 15,231 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2023. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Good, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 36.3:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 4.6 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

33%

LA 61%

Reading57% LA 76%

Writing57% LA 70%

Maths40% LA 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 61%England 61%

Reading74% LA 76% · Eng 74%

Writing72% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths77% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

50%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading63% LA 74% · Eng 73%

Writing68% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths55% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.0

Read

LA 0.3

-4.1 to 0.2

-3.3

Write

LA -0.4

-5.3 to -1.3

-2.2

Maths

LA -0.1

-4.2 to -0.2

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 65%England 65%

Reading67% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Writing81% LA 78% · Eng 78%

Maths73% LA 78% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.6

Read

LA -0.1

-2.0 to 0.8

0.8

Write

LA -0.5

-0.5 to 2.1

0.3

Maths

LA -0.5

-1.0 to 1.5

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

44%

LA 66%

Reading64% LA 78%

Writing82% LA 78%

Maths51% LA 76%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.1

Read

LA 0.1

-1.8 to 1.6

2.5

Write

LA -0.5

0.9 to 4.1

-1.1

Maths

LA -0.4

-2.7 to 0.5

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

19 April 2023

Inspection Report

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29 November 2017

Inspection Report

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09 May 2013

Inspection Report

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14 December 2011

Inspection Report

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08 July 2010

Inspection Report

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14 January 2009

Inspection Report

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17 October 2006

Inspection Report

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09 July 2001

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2023-04-19

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2017-11-29

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2013-05-09

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2010-07-08

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

4.3%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

3.3%(6 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 184 pupils. During this period, there were 8 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 4.3%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	184	8	4.3%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	183	9	4.9%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	216	1	0.5%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	215	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	219	1	0.5%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	242	1	0.4%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	232	1	0.4%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	231	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	283	1	0.4%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	274	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	270	1	0.4%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	310	1	0.3%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	316	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	319	1	0.3%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	403	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	403	3	0.7%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	408	4	1.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	466	4	0.9%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	454	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	460	3	0.7%	0.5%	1
2017/18 (Summer term)	506	11	2.2%	0.5%	1
2017/18 (Spring term)	515	5	1.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	514	5	1.0%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	534	4	0.7%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	535	1	0.2%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	527	5	0.9%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 11 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 8 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 5 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils