School Chooser

Kingsway Infants' School

Primary · ages 5-7MixedCouncil171 pupilsWatfordHertfordshire
School Chooser Score
20
Below
similar schools
Likely range 8 to 44, so it could be “well below”
Out of 100. Better than 15% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
#12,889 of 16,041 in England#321 in HertfordshireHow it is worked out
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, January 2023
Attendance93.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families18%A bit fewer than most schools
Places9 spare171 pupils, 180 places
Pupils per teacher20.4School workforce census
Pupils on roll171Census January 2026

Kingsway Infants' School is a council school in Watford for boys and girls aged 5 to 7. It has 171 pupils and room for 180. About 18 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 20 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 15% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

North Approach, Watford, WD25 0ES01923 675005kingsway.herts.sch.ukMrs Deborah Knights headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 20 January 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places172 pupils for 189 places, 2024/25
91% full

About 17 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (57 offers for 60 places).

EntryPlacesApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary6010257– all offeredLA
2025 Primary6010253– all offeredLA
2024 Primary6013057– all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll171Census January 2026
Places18095% full
Pupils from low-income families18%18% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English32%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support13%22 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%6 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.56 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)18%£48,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls87 / 84
White British pupils48%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (10), emotional and mental health (8), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (7), Specific learning difficulty (2), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll171174174170174176
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals18%23%22%22%17%17%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language32%32%26%23%21%24%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–19%31%26%29%30%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–4%2%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school15.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.3%5.3%5.7%6.0%2.7%4.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.5%3.9%4.0%4.4%1.8%3.4%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.8%1.4%1.7%1.6%1.0%1.2%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence15.4%8.3%16.3%17.5%6.5%11.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.24.64.70.00.0––
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000––

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.4full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher20.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers89%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants11.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,001
Teachers who left in the year25%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher12.22024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,580England £7,738. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£7,570England £7,697. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,927England £3,480
Money in reserve12%A healthy amount put by: £161k, £925 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£1,770it spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£7,580spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m32612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate61 per 1,000 people33% lower than the England average
Typical house price£420,000Watford
Nearest bus stop70 mNorth Approach, 27 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
Kingsway Junior SchoolCouncil90 m235Good 202286Compare
Leavesden JMI SchoolCouncil260 m389Good 202321Compare
Cherry Tree Primary SchoolAcademy900 m445Good 202244Compare
Alban Wood Primary School and NurseryAcademy960 m238Good 202367Compare
The Orchard Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles434Good 202288Compare
Beechfield SchoolAcademy0.9 miles444Good 202275Compare
Tanners Wood Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolCouncil1.0 miles418Good 201923Compare
Holy Rood Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles454Outstanding 202398Compare
Primary schools in HertfordshirePrimary schools in WatfordBest primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Kingsway Infants' School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats15%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 20 is 39 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 59 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Kingsway Infants' School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Holy Trinity CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England5.4 miles211Good 202374Compare
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy6.9 miles134Not inspected75Compare
Monken Hadley CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England9.5 miles147Outstanding 202398Compare
Ladbrooke Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolCouncil9.8 miles226Good 202260Compare
Little Heath Primary SchoolFoundation10.0 miles225Good 202445Compare
Hasmonean Primary SchoolJewish11.1 miles172Good 202493Compare
Church Hill SchoolCouncil11.3 miles181Good 202268Compare
Abbey View Primary AcademyFree school15.4 miles251Good 202451Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 20 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 20% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 8 to 44. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
–
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.02
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
–
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.34
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.11
2024/25; 117 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
–
What parents say0%no data
–

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Kingsway Infants' School a good school?

The figures are weak. Kingsway Infants' School scores 20 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 15% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 8 to 44, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Kingsway Infants' School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Kingsway Infants' School good at its last full inspection on 20 January 2023.

How many pupils does Kingsway Infants' School have?

171 pupils aged 5 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 95% full.

Is Kingsway Infants' School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 17 places were empty in 2024/25 (9% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Kingsway Infants' School?

Pupils were in school 93.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Kingsway Infants' School?

The average class had 28.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
North Approach, Watford, WD25 0ES
Telephone
01923 675005
Website
www.kingsway.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Deborah Knights
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-7
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
Stanborough
Constituency
Watford
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117317 · LAESTAB 9192395 · UKPRN 10074089
Official recordOfsted reportsGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from