Central Primary School

Watford · WD17 2LX

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 399 pupils, 23.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.3% on SEN support Behaviour 5.4% absence rate Staff 17.2% turnover Financials £6,807 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Central Primary School

General Information

Address: Derby Road, Watford, WD17 2LX – View on map
Phone: 01923225129
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sabriye Wright
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 33 families put it first for 42 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 7 · 2026 8
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

399 pupils out of 450 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 91
% eligible for free school meals: 23.8%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (similar to the Watford average)
English as an additional language: 75% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 17.2% a year (Watford 17.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 79% moved to another school, 21% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 13 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Hertfordshire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 15.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card February 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Requires improvement (2023). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 69% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 6% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: in line with the Watford average (70%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 55% against an expected 70%)
3-year average (expected standard): 55%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 81% · Writing 77% · Maths 79% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 77%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 105
Based on: 48 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolWatford averageEngland↗ Improving Up 18 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Watford average (70%).

Year 6 SATs: 14th of 22 junior and primary schools in the area

=12Laurance Haines School70%
=12The Orchard Primary School70%
#14Central Primary School69%
#15Watford St John's Church of England Primary School67%
#16The Grove Academy64%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Nascot Wood Junior School88%
=2Bromet Primary School85%
=2Field Junior School85%
#4Holy Rood Catholic Primary School84%
#5Kingsway Junior School80%
#6Cassiobury Junior School77%
#7Ascot Road Primary School75%
#8Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery74%
#9Lanchester Primary School73%
=10Beechfield School72%
=10Knutsford Primary Academy72%
=12Laurance Haines School70%
=12The Orchard Primary School70%
#14Central Primary School69%
#15Watford St John's Church of England Primary School67%
#16The Grove Academy64%
#17Chater Junior School63%
#18St Anthony's Catholic Primary School61%
#19Parkgate Junior School58%
#20Cherry Tree Primary School48%
#21Coates Way JMI and Nursery School47%
#22Leavesden JMI School40%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,807 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

2nd of 16 primary schools in Watford for spending per pupil

#1Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery£7,129
#2Central Primary School£6,807
#3Coates Way JMI and Nursery School£6,781
#4The Grove Academy£6,653

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery£7,129
#2Central Primary School£6,807
#3Coates Way JMI and Nursery School£6,781
#4The Grove Academy£6,653
#5Watford St John's Church of England Primary School£6,424
#6Leavesden JMI School£6,263
#7Cherry Tree Primary School£6,260
#8Lanchester Primary School£6,183
#9St Anthony's Catholic Primary School£6,082
#10The Orchard Primary School£6,024
#11Laurance Haines School£5,989
#12Knutsford Primary Academy£5,975
#13Beechfield School£5,946
#14Ascot Road Primary School£5,828
#15Holy Rood Catholic Primary School£5,618
#16Bromet Primary School£5,599

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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