Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School

Welwyn Hatfield · AL9 6HD

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 77 pupils, 26.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13% on SEN support Behaviour 6.1% absence rate Staff 48% turnover Financials £11,127 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School

General Information

Address: School Lane, Essendon, AL9 6HD – View on map
Phone: 01707261209
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Lesley Brennan
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 1 family put it first for 1 places – 10 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 8 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

77 pupils out of 115 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 20
% eligible for free school meals: 26.7%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (similar to the Welwyn Hatfield average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 48% a year (Welwyn Hatfield 16.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 37% moved to another school, 63% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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: 6.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 12.7%
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: 13.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Vision impairment: 1 pupil
Autistic spectrum disorder: 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

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 17% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 48 percentage points below the Welwyn Hatfield average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 32% against an expected 63%)
3-year average (expected standard): 32%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 50% · Maths 33% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 58%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 98
Based on: 12 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 schoolWelwyn Hatfield averageEngland↘ Falling Down 21 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 48 percentage points below the Welwyn Hatfield average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: 35th of 35 junior and primary schools in the area

#33Creswick Academy40%
#34Birchwood Avenue Primary School38%
#35Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School17%

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

=1Cuffley School83%
=1Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary School83%
#3St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary School82%
=4Panshanger Primary School80%
=4Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School80%
#6Applecroft School78%
=7Brookmans Park Primary School77%
=7Holwell Primary School77%
=9Watchlytes Primary School76%
=9Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School76%
#11Peartree Primary School75%
#12St John's CofE Primary School73%
=13Oak View Primary and Nursery School70%
=13Our Lady Catholic Primary School70%
=15Howe Dell Primary School69%
=15The Ryde School69%
#17Commonswood Primary & Nursery School65%
=18Countess Anne Church of England School64%
=18Green Lanes Primary School64%
=18Waterside Academy64%
#21Little Heath Primary School63%
=22Homerswood Primary and Nursery School62%
=22St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford62%
#24De Havilland Primary School61%
=25Oaklands Primary School60%
=25Templewood Primary School60%
#27Hatfield Community Free School57%
#28Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School55%
#29Springmead Primary School52%
#30St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green50%
#31Northaw Church of England Primary School44%
#32St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School42%
#33Creswick Academy40%
#34Birchwood Avenue Primary School38%
#35Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

9th of 26 primary schools in Welwyn Hatfield for Ofsted rating

#7Cuffley SchoolGood
#8De Havilland Primary SchoolGood
#9Essendon CofE (VC) Primary SchoolGood
#10Green Lanes Primary SchoolGood
#11Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Countess Anne Church of England SchoolOutstanding
#2Howe Dell Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Applecroft SchoolGood
#4Birchwood Avenue Primary SchoolGood
#5Brookmans Park Primary SchoolGood
#6Commonswood Primary & Nursery SchoolGood
#7Cuffley SchoolGood
#8De Havilland Primary SchoolGood
#9Essendon CofE (VC) Primary SchoolGood
#10Green Lanes Primary SchoolGood
#11Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
#12Holwell Primary SchoolGood
#13Little Heath Primary SchoolGood
#14Northaw Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#15Oak View Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#16Oaklands Primary SchoolGood
#17Panshanger Primary SchoolGood
#18Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#19Springmead Primary SchoolGood
#20St John's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#21St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, LemsfordGood
#22St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary SchoolGood
#23St Philip Howard Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#24Templewood Primary SchoolGood
#25The Ryde SchoolGood
#26Creswick AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £11,127 (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.

1st of 36 primary schools in Welwyn Hatfield for spending per pupil

#1Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School£11,127
#2Waterside Academy£9,188
#3St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green£8,503

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

#1Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School£11,127
#2Waterside Academy£9,188
#3St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green£8,503
#4Howe Dell Primary School£8,434
#5Watchlytes Primary School£8,302
#6Birchwood Avenue Primary School£8,221
#7Northaw Church of England Primary School£8,033
#8Homerswood Primary and Nursery School£7,770
#9St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford£7,749
#10Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School£7,741
#11Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary School£7,622
#12Peartree Primary School£7,615
#13Oaklands Primary School£7,333
#14Templewood Primary School£7,326
#15St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School£7,324
#16Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School£7,154
#17Countess Anne Church of England School£7,149
#18Holwell Primary School£7,101
#19Creswick Academy£7,071
#20The Ryde School£6,906
#21Oak View Primary and Nursery School£6,885
#22Springmead Primary School£6,779
#23Little Heath Primary School£6,760
#24St John's CofE Primary School£6,644
#25Green Lanes Primary School£6,489
#26St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary School£6,396
#27De Havilland Primary School£6,297
#28Hatfield Community Free School£6,234
#29Panshanger Primary School£6,232
#30Applecroft School£6,116
#31Brookmans Park Primary School£6,093
#32Commonswood Primary & Nursery School£6,093
#33Our Lady Catholic Primary School£6,061
#34Welwyn St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,040
#35Cuffley School£5,830
#36The Holy Family Catholic Primary School£1,078

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

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