Jenyns First School and Nursery

About Jenyns First School and Nursery

Jenyns First School and Nursery, a state primary in East Hertfordshire, received a Good rating from Ofsted in its most recent inspection in November 2024, a change from its previous Outstanding grade in 2017. The inspection judged all key areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision — as Good. The most telling academic metric for a school this size is its oversubscription data: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 29 applications for just 9 places, with all 9 first-preference offers accepted. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 3.22, meaning more than three families applied for every available spot. It suggests strong local confidence in the school's academic offering, even if published exam results like Key Stage 2 SATs are not available in this dataset to compare against the Hertfordshire local authority average of 64.

The school's small size — just 64 pupils against a capacity of 85 — allows for a highly personalised approach. Parent views, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, are overwhelmingly positive: 100% of the 30 respondents would recommend the school. On questions about happiness, safety, and behaviour, the vast majority strongly agreed. For example, 87% strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 90% strongly agreed their child feels safe. On academic expectations, 73% strongly agreed the school has high expectations, and 83% strongly agreed their child does well. The school supports children with Specific Learning Difficulty (Dyslexia), Moderate Learning Difficulty, and Social, Emotional & Mental Health needs, though no parents responding to the survey indicated their child receives SEND support, so the data on that provision is thin.

Facilities include an art studio, music rooms, a sensory room, a sports hall, and a gymnasium, with sports such as swimming, netball, and gymnastics on offer. Clubs range from chess and coding to gardening and eco club. The school has a nursery provision for children from age 3 and runs up to Year 4 (age 9), meaning families will need to plan for a transition to a junior or middle school. Given its high oversubscription and strong parent satisfaction, Jenyns is a popular choice for families in the area who value a small, community-focused primary with good facilities and a consistent record of positive inspection outcomes. The headteacher is James Sadler.

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