Downfield Primary School

Broxbourne · EN8 8SS

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 467 pupils, 26.4% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN SEN unit · 28.7% on SEN support Behaviour 7.2% absence rate Staff 4.8% turnover Financials £7,740 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Downfield Primary School

General Information

Address: Downfield Road, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, EN8 8SS – View on map
Phone: 01992629598
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Sarah Goldsmith
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 50 families put it first for 56 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 56 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

467 pupils out of 420 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 113
% eligible for free school meals: 26.4%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Broxbourne average)
English as an additional language: 38% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 4.8% a year (Broxbourne 19.2%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 19% moved to another school, 81% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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: 7.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.6%
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

SEN unit for AutismSpeech, language and communicationOther needs 12 places · 12 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 28.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 9.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 61 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 32 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 28 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 2 pupils

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 –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

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.

–

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.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 22% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 38 percentage points below the Broxbourne average (60%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 40% against an expected 57%)
3-year average (expected standard): 40%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 61% · Writing 26% · Maths 57% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 76%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 103
Based on: 54 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 schoolBroxbourne averageEngland↘ Falling Down 18 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 38 percentage points below the Broxbourne average (60%).

Year 6 SATs: 27th of 27 junior and primary schools in the area

#25Longlands Primary School and Nursery38%
#26St Catherine's Hoddesdon CofE Primary School30%
#27Downfield Primary School22%

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

#1St Augustine's Catholic Primary School87%
#2Broxbourne CofE Primary School83%
#3Sheredes Primary School78%
#4Woodside Primary School76%
=5Flamstead End School72%
=5Wormley CofE Primary School72%
#7Brookland Junior School71%
#8Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School69%
=9Fairfields Primary School and Nursery68%
=9The Cranbourne Primary School68%
#11Hurst Drive Primary School63%
#12St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Wx)62%
#13Burleigh Primary School61%
=14Bonneygrove Primary School60%
=14Millbrook School60%
=16Churchfield Church of England Academy55%
=16Four Swannes Primary School55%
#18Forres Primary Academy54%
#19Holdbrook Primary School and Nursery52%
=20Goffs Oak Primary & Nursery School50%
=20Roselands Primary School50%
#22High Leigh Primary School48%
#23Dewhurst St Mary CofE Primary School47%
#24St Cross Catholic Primary School45%
#25Longlands Primary School and Nursery38%
#26St Catherine's Hoddesdon CofE Primary School30%
#27Downfield Primary School22%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,740 (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.

5th of 28 primary schools in Broxbourne for spending per pupil

#3Forres Primary Academy£8,150
#4Wormley CofE Primary School£7,811
#5Downfield Primary School£7,740
#6Millbrook School£7,730
#7Longlands Primary School and Nursery£7,603

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

#1High Leigh Primary School£8,852
#2Holdbrook Primary School and Nursery£8,154
#3Forres Primary Academy£8,150
#4Wormley CofE Primary School£7,811
#5Downfield Primary School£7,740
#6Millbrook School£7,730
#7Longlands Primary School and Nursery£7,603
#8Hurst Drive Primary School£7,224
#9Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School£7,164
#10St Cross Catholic Primary School£7,114
#11Four Swannes Primary School£7,039
#12Dewhurst St Mary CofE Primary School£6,941
#13Broxbourne CofE Primary School£6,874
#14Goffs Oak Primary & Nursery School£6,753
#15St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Wx)£6,702
#16St Augustine's Catholic Primary School£6,550
#17Churchfield Church of England Academy£6,524
#18St Catherine's Hoddesdon CofE Primary School£6,435
#19Bonneygrove Primary School£6,373
#20Fairfields Primary School and Nursery£6,353
#21Burleigh Primary School£6,174
#22Woodside Primary School£6,162
#23Sheredes Primary School£6,038
#24Roselands Primary School£6,030
#25Flamstead End School£5,905
#26Oakview Primary School£5,835
#27The Cranbourne Primary School£5,751
#28St Paul's Catholic Primary School£1,131

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

Have you rated Downfield Primary School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school