Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School

Welwyn Hatfield · AL7 3JP

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 418 pupils, 28.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 16.5% on SEN support Behaviour 6.2% absence rate Staff 21.1% turnover Financials £7,741 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School

General Information

Address: Blackthorn Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 3JP – View on map
Phone: 01707339079
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr James Berry
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 47 families put it first for 52 places – 9 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 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

418 pupils out of 450 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 114
% eligible for free school meals: 28.8%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (less mixed than the Welwyn Hatfield average)
English as an additional language: 10% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 21.1% a year (Welwyn Hatfield 16.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% 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: 6.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 15.7%
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

Resourced provision for AutismSpeech, language and communicationSevere learning difficulties 12 places · 6 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: 16.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Other difficulty or disability: 33 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 15 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 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 –

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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

No overall grade given 2025 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: 80% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 13% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 15 percentage points above the Welwyn Hatfield average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 49% against an expected 59%)
3-year average (expected standard): 49%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 82% · Writing 82% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 79%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 106
Based on: 56 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↗ Improving Up 48 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 15 percentage points above the Welwyn Hatfield average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 4th of 35 junior and primary schools in the area

#3St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary School82%
=4Panshanger Primary School80%
=4Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School80%
#6Applecroft School78%
=7Brookmans Park Primary School77%

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,741 (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.

10th of 36 primary schools in Welwyn Hatfield for spending per pupil

#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

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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