School Chooser

Knebworth Primary and Nursery School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil390 pupilsNurseryHertfordshire
School Chooser Score
71
Above
similar schools
Likely range 52 to 84
Out of 100. Better than 53% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, May 2023
Reached the expected level at 1164%England 63%
Attendance96.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families11%Far fewer than most schools
Places40 spare390 pupils, 430 places
Pupils per teacher18.8School workforce census

Knebworth Primary and Nursery School is a council school in Knebworth for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 390 pupils and room for 430. About 11 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 71 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 53% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Swangleys Lane, Knebworth, SG3 6AA01438 812184knebworthprimaryschool.org.ukMiss S Bains headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 11 May 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

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

47 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1164%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level13%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 71%71%20172018: 72%72%20182019: 80%80%20192023: 72%72%20232024: 66%66%20242025: 64%64%2025
Since 2017: -7%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HertfordshireEngland
Pupils tested475954555351
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths64%66%72%80%72%71%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths13%8%11%22%15%22%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0106.0104.0106.0107.0107.0106.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0105.0105.0107.0106.0106.0105.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0105.0105.0106.0107.0107.0106.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%83%78%82%85%76%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard72%85%81%89%83%80%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)83%81%80%91%91%90%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.5+1.9+2.5+0.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.3+2.4+2.6-0.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged38%17%60%63%71%29%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged69%72%75%83%72%77%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
38%69%
Gap 31 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
69%57%
Gap 12 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
13%13%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places377 pupils for 413 places, 2024/25
91% full

About 36 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 Primary6011657all offeredLA
2025 Primary6010456all offeredLA
2024 Primary6011961LA

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 roll390Census January 2026
Places43091% full
Pupils from low-income families11%11% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English7%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support9%34 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%13 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.015 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)12%£68,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls193 / 197
White British pupils75%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (17), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), language and communications needs (8), Specific learning difficulty (6), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Hearing impairment (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll390404418427425421
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals11%10%10%10%9%10%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language7%7%5%5%5%6%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support7%8%7%7%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.1%4.5%4.4%5.7%2.8%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.2%3.5%3.4%4.9%2.0%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%1.0%0.9%0.9%0.7%1.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.5%9.5%6.9%13.4%5.2%6.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.72.20.50.70.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers20.5full-time equivalent, 27 people
Pupils per teacher18.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,418
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.62024/25

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£6,653England £7,738. Total £2.7m
Income per pupil£6,709England £7,697. Total £2.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,274England £3,480
Money in reserve15%A healthy amount put by: £405k, £1,011 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£22kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,653spent 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 m14512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate49 per 1,000 people46% lower than the England average
Typical house price£422,050North Hertfordshire
Nearest bus stop290 mGun Road, 6 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
All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, DatchworthChurch of England0.9 miles120Good 202487Compare
St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary SchoolChurch of England1.0 miles186Good 202266Compare
Shephalbury Park Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles228Good 202221Compare
Longmeadow Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles201No overall grade 20254Compare
St Margaret Clitherow Roman Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 milesNot inspectedCompare
Roebuck AcademyAcademy1.6 miles452Report card 202628Compare
Oaklands Primary SchoolCouncil1.7 miles195Good 202360Compare
Peartree Spring Primary SchoolFoundation2.0 miles626Good 202333Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Knebworth Primary and Nursery School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats53%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 71 is 4 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 67 · highest 97100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Knebworth Primary and Nursery 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
Hartsfield Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolCouncil8.7 miles409Not inspected82Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 71 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 71% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 52 to 84. 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 years25%in line
+0.08
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 47 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.08
DfE progress measure; 47 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.02
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.07
2024/25; 341 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
0.00
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 47 pupils
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 Knebworth Primary and Nursery School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Knebworth Primary and Nursery School scores 71 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 53% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 52 to 84, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Knebworth Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Knebworth Primary and Nursery School good at its last full inspection on 11 May 2023.

How good are Knebworth Primary and Nursery School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 64% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 13% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Knebworth Primary and Nursery School have?

390 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 430 places, so it is 91% full.

Is Knebworth Primary and Nursery School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 36 places were empty in 2024/25 (9% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Knebworth Primary and Nursery School?

Pupils were in school 96.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Knebworth Primary and Nursery School?

The average class had 26.0 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
Swangleys Lane, Knebworth, SG3 6AA
Telephone
01438 812184
Website
www.knebworthprimaryschool.org.uk
Headteacher
Miss S Bains
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
Knebworth
Constituency
Stevenage
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117120 · LAESTAB 9192066 · UKPRN 10079589

Where these figures come from