Sandon Junior Mixed and Infant School, Nr Buntingford

Requires Improvement
Primary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 411

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~1.6km)Possible (~2.4km)Unlikely (~3.1km)Confidence: medium

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Headteacher Spencer Rignall
Pupils:22 / 101 capacity
LA:Hertfordshire
Phone:01763287238
Address:Sandon, Nr Buntingford, SG9 0QS
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Requires Improvement

Overall

URN:117147
UKPRN:10076921
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:North East Hertfordshire
Urban/Rural:Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

This warm, nurturing village school excels at creating a safe, welcoming environment where every pupil feels known and cared for. Staff build strong relationships and pupils behave well, with bullying being rare. The school offers a rich personal development programme and exciting enrichment activities that broaden pupils' experiences and strengthen their sense of community belonging.

Key Strengths

  • Safeguarding is effective with an open culture where concerns are actively managed and pupils feel safe
  • Attendance has improved and now sits above the national average
  • Pupils are friendly, respectful and positive with strong relationships and behaviour
  • Personal development programme is broad, including relationships education, British values and wellbeing support
  • Wide range of enrichment opportunities including sporting events, theatre visits and community involvement

Areas for Improvement

  • Teaching is not consistently delivering the curriculum as intended, limiting pupils' knowledge and progress
  • Gaps in pupils' understanding are not always identified and addressed by staff
  • Support strategies for pupils with special educational needs are variable and not consistently effective
  • Staffing changes have affected curriculum delivery and embedding of improvements
  • Clarity needed on when pupils have achieved targets to move them to next steps

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have created an open and positive culture of safeguarding where all legal requirements are met and pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Singing events, trampoline workshops, dance and sports competitions, handball, theatre visits, bike safety sessions with local police, careers week, Black History Month cooking, role-play activities

Sandon Junior Mixed and Infant School is a small village school at the heart of a close-knit community where pupils feel safe and well-cared for. However, the school needs to improve the consistency of teaching and support for pupils' academic achievement.

At a Glance

27.3%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading-14ppMaths-14ppWriting-29pp

Reading has declined from 71% to 57%. Maths has declined from 71% to 57%. Writing has declined from 86% to 57%.

Class Sizes

2.0

Avg class size

2.0

Infant (KS1)

1

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

School (nr)
122m · 2 min walk
Hill Side (SW-bound)
189m · 3 min walk
Rushden Road (N-bound)
226m · 4 min walk
Cricket Ground (W-bound)
814m · 13 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

22%

Available places

22 pupils

101 capacity

79 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Nr Buntingford

Low pressure
New homes approved:38
Projected new pupils:10

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Nr Buntingford

Admissions Demand - Hertfordshire

Low demand0.86x oversubscription

Places available

14,951

Applications

12,834

Got 1st preference

88.0%

Got preferred school

98.2%

Primary admissions across Hertfordshire (2025/26)

Inspection History(17)

Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement
Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement
Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement

House Prices

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

12.47353%

Overall absence

11.76471%

Persistent absence

34

Enrolments

Authorised11.61642%
Unauthorised0.85711%
Persistent (10%+)11.76471%
Severe (50%+)8.82353%

Absence trend

3.0064%
18/19
2.98287%
20/21
6.7528%
21/22
4.88754%
22/23
7.02925%
23/24
12.47353%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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