St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch

Dacorum · HP4 3QZ

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 226 pupils, 10.3% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.6% on SEN support Behaviour 4.9% absence rate Staff 16.2% turnover Financials £6,342 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch

General Information

Address: Northchurch, Berkhamsted, HP4 3QZ – View on map
Phone: 01442389040
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Sarah Gray
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 32 families put it first for 29 places – 11 for every 10 places. 88% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 11
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

226 pupils out of 240 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 21
% eligible for free school meals: 10.3%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Dacorum average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.2% a year (Dacorum 16.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 36% moved to another school, 64% 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: 4.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 8.3%
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: 18.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils

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 2023 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: 53% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 8 percentage points below the Dacorum average (61%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 64% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 64%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 73% · Maths 67% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 103
Based on: 30 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 schoolDacorum averageEngland↘ Falling Down 17 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 8 percentage points below the Dacorum average (61%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 33rd of 48 junior and primary schools in the area

=33Holtsmere End Junior School53%
=33South Hill Primary School53%
=33St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch53%
=37Dundale Primary School and Nursery52%
=37Micklem Primary School52%

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

#1Bovingdon Primary Academy92%
#2Brockswood Primary School87%
#3Great Gaddesden Church of England Primary School83%
#4Two Waters Primary School81%
#5Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School80%
=6Greenway Primary and Nursery School79%
=6Little Gaddesden Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School79%
#8Hobletts Manor Junior School78%
=9Aldbury Church of England Primary and Nursery School75%
=9Bridgewater Primary School75%
=9George Street Primary School75%
#12Markyate Village School and Nursery73%
#13Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School72%
#14Grove Road Primary School70%
=15Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring68%
=15The Thomas Coram Church of England School68%
=17Boxmoor Primary School67%
=17Hammond Academy67%
=17Nash Mills Church of England Primary School67%
#20Pixies Hill Primary School66%
=21Kings Langley Primary School65%
=21St Cuthbert Mayne Voluntary Catholic Junior Academy65%
#23Flamstead Village School63%
=24Belswains Primary School62%
=24Gade Valley Primary School62%
=24St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chipperfield62%
=24Tudor Primary School62%
#28Jupiter Primary School61%
#29St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton60%
#30Potten End CofE Primary School59%
#31St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy58%
#32The Reddings Primary School57%
=33Broadfield Academy53%
=33Holtsmere End Junior School53%
=33South Hill Primary School53%
=33St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch53%
=37Dundale Primary School and Nursery52%
=37Micklem Primary School52%
=39Aycliffe Drive Primary School51%
=39Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery51%
#41Saint Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy50%
#42Chambersbury Primary School41%
#43Lime Walk Primary School39%
=44Long Marston VA Church of England Primary and Nursery School36%
=44Maple Grove Primary School36%
#46Westfield Primary School30%
#47Oakleaf Primary24%
#48Yewtree Primary School17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

28th of 34 primary schools in Dacorum for Ofsted rating

#26Saint Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#27South Hill Primary SchoolGood
#28St Mary's CofE Primary School, NorthchurchGood
#29St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, ChipperfieldGood
#30The Reddings Primary 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

#1Aldbury Church of England Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#2Aycliffe Drive Primary SchoolGood
#3Belswains Primary SchoolGood
#4Bovingdon Primary AcademyGood
#5Boxmoor Primary SchoolGood
#6Bridgewater Primary SchoolGood
#7Broadfield AcademyGood
#8Chambersbury Primary SchoolGood
#9Flamstead Village SchoolGood
#10Gaddesden Row JMI SchoolGood
#11Gade Valley Primary SchoolGood
#12Greenway Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#13Grove Road Primary SchoolGood
#14Hammond AcademyGood
#15Hobbs Hill Wood Primary SchoolGood
#16Jupiter Primary SchoolGood
#17Kings Langley Primary SchoolGood
#18Leverstock Green Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#19Lime Walk Primary SchoolGood
#20Long Marston VA Church of England Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
#21Markyate Village School and NurseryGood
#22Micklem Primary SchoolGood
#23Nash Mills Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#24Pixies Hill Primary SchoolGood
#25Potten End CofE Primary SchoolGood
#26Saint Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#27South Hill Primary SchoolGood
#28St Mary's CofE Primary School, NorthchurchGood
#29St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, ChipperfieldGood
#30The Reddings Primary SchoolGood
#31Tudor Primary SchoolGood
#32Yewtree Primary SchoolGood
#33St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyRequires improvement
#34Westfield Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,342 (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.

37th of 44 primary schools in Dacorum for spending per pupil

#35Pixies Hill Primary School£6,471
#36St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,444
#37St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch£6,342
#38Kings Langley Primary School£6,297
#39Bovingdon Primary Academy£6,228

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

#1Gaddesden Row JMI School£11,362
#2Great Gaddesden Church of England Primary School£9,190
#3Westfield Primary School£8,632
#4Oakleaf Primary£8,496
#5Dundale Primary School and Nursery£8,494
#6Greenway Primary and Nursery School£7,874
#7Maple Grove Primary School£7,866
#8Lime Walk Primary School£7,800
#9Flamstead Village School£7,695
#10The Reddings Primary School£7,608
#11Micklem Primary School£7,596
#12Chambersbury Primary School£7,388
#13Long Marston VA Church of England Primary and Nursery School£7,292
#14Aldbury Church of England Primary and Nursery School£7,258
#15Little Gaddesden Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,253
#16Yewtree Primary School£7,248
#17Brockswood Primary School£7,206
#18Saint Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£7,200
#19St Bartholomew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Wigginton£7,185
#20Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School£7,143
#21Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School£7,105
#22Markyate Village School and Nursery£7,028
#23Hammond Academy£6,923
#24Boxmoor Primary School£6,912
#25George Street Primary School£6,795
#26Aycliffe Drive Primary School£6,733
#27Two Waters Primary School£6,638
#28Grove Road Primary School£6,628
#29Galley Hill Primary School and Nursery£6,615
#30St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chipperfield£6,595
#31Potten End CofE Primary School£6,591
#32Gade Valley Primary School£6,566
#33Nash Mills Church of England Primary School£6,556
#34Tudor Primary School£6,526
#35Pixies Hill Primary School£6,471
#36St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,444
#37St Mary's CofE Primary School, Northchurch£6,342
#38Kings Langley Primary School£6,297
#39Bovingdon Primary Academy£6,228
#40Broadfield Academy£6,131
#41South Hill Primary School£6,118
#42Bridgewater Primary School£5,881
#43Belswains Primary School£5,770
#44Jupiter Primary School£5,637

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

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