School Chooser

Cefn Fforest Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11Council284 pupilsNurseryBlackwoodCaerphilly
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWales doesn't publish results for primary schools, so there is nothing to score. Attendance, pupils, staffing and budget are below.
Attendance90.3%Wales 92.8%
Pupils from low-income families37%
Pupils with additional learning needs15%
Pupils on roll284
NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025
Pupils per teacher20.3

Cefn Fforest Primary School is a council school in Blackwood for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 284 pupils. Teaching is in English.

Cefn Fforest Avenue, Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, NP12 3JX01443 830449All details

Inspection

Schools in Wales are inspected by Estyn, not Ofsted. Since September 2022 Estyn's reports describe what a school does well and what it needs to work on, without giving a grade.

Estyn's latest report, and any follow-up visits, are on Estyn's website. The only schools given a formal label are those in special measures or needing significant improvement.

Find this school's Estyn reportsMy Local School (Welsh Government)

Results

Wales stopped publishing results for individual primary schools in 2019, so there are none to show. Attendance, pupil numbers and staffing below come from the Welsh Government's My Local School.

Getting a place

There is no entrance test. The council hands out the places. Brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups go first; after that, the closer you live, the better your chances.

Teaching is in English.

You apply through Caerphilly council, not the school.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll284
Pupils from low-income families37%Three-year average; Wales –
Pupils getting extra support15%Additional learning needs; Wales –
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils4%
LanguageEnglish mediumEnglish medium school / provision
NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 2 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals36.8%37.1%35.5%33.5%32.4%32.0%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)15.4%17.5%17.3%24.5%31.0%33.1%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils3.8%5.6%5.0%3.3%3.3%3.4%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.3% of the time. Across primary schools in Wales it was 92.8%. Wales doesn't publish figures on pupils who miss a lot of school, or on exclusions, for individual schools.

Attendance90.3%
Wales 92.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 92.6%92.6%20192023: 89.1%89.1%20232024: 90.6%90.6%20242025: 90.3%90.3%2025
Since 2019: -2.3%

Staff and budget

From the Welsh Government's My Local School, 2025/26.

Budget per pupil£5,8862025/26, Wales £5,678
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 3,8943,89420202021: 4,3414,34120212022: 4,4464,44620222023: 4,6554,65520232024: 5,2785,27820242025: 5,4115,41120252026: 5,8865,8862026
Since 2020: +1,992

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £208 more than the Welsh average for primary schools. Small and rural schools tend to get more per pupil.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m35812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate111 per 1,000 people22% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Caerphilly
Nearest bus stop60 mCefn Fforest Primary School, 16 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Blackwood Primary SchoolCouncil810 m372Estyn, no grade–Compare
Pengam Primary SchoolCouncil860 m198Estyn, no grade–Compare
Ysgol Gymraeg TrelynFoundation860 m208Estyn, no grade–Compare
Gilfach Fargoed Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles178Estyn, no grade–Compare
Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach FargoedFoundation0.8 miles109Estyn, no grade–Compare
Tiryberth Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles139Estyn, no grade–Compare
Fleur-De-Lys Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles96Estyn, no grade–Compare
Libanus Primary SchoolCouncil1.1 miles342Estyn, no grade–Compare
Primary schools in CaerphillyPrimary schools in BlackwoodBest primary schools in Wales

Questions parents ask

Is Cefn Fforest Primary School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Cefn Fforest Primary School yet.

How many pupils does Cefn Fforest Primary School have?

284 pupils aged 3 to 11.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Cefn Fforest Avenue, Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, NP12 3JX
Telephone
01443 830449
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Religious character
None
Local authority
Caerphilly
Ward
Cefn Fforest and Pengam
Constituency
Newport West and Islwyn
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
URN
401381 · School number 6762377
Language
English medium school / provision
Official recordMy Local SchoolDownload this school's data (CSV)

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “Primary” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “284” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “36.8” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from