Highbury Infant School and Nursery
Community primary school in Hitchin (Hertfordshire).
Ofsted
Ungraded inspection
inspected Nov 2022
Early years (EYFS)
-
not published
Attendance rate
96.1%
▲ 1pp England 2024/25: 94.8%
2024/25 academic year
Pupil : Teacher
18.6
▼ 2.1 England 2025/26: 20.7
2025/26
Eligible for free school meals
8.7%
▼ 16pp England 2025/26: 24.9%
school census 15/01/2026
SEN support
11.3%
▼ 4pp England 2025/26: 15.4%
2025/26
Capacity
81%
195 / 240 pupils
register figure (GIAS)
Teacher turnover
28.2%
▲ 14pp England 2024/25: 14.5% (primary schools)
2024/25
Compare measures over time
Where each figure sits
Scroll sideways for more
| Measure | Latest year | This school | In England | In Hertfordshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall absence | 2024/25 | 3.9% | joint 13,414th highest of 16,262 (46 schools have the same figure) | joint 322nd highest of 394 (2 schools have the same figure) |
| Unauthorised absence | 2024/25 | 0.5% | joint 15,431st highest of 16,262 (53 schools have the same figure) | joint 356th highest of 394 (3 schools have the same figure) |
| Pupils suspended at least once | 2024/25 | 0.9% | joint 6,817th highest of 16,268 (78 schools have the same figure) | joint 192nd highest of 394 (6 schools have the same figure) |
| Suspensions per 100 pupils | 2024/25 | 2.8 | - | - |
| Permanent exclusions | 2024/25 | 0.00% | - | - |
| Eligible for free school meals (census) | 2025/26 | 8.7% | joint 14,146th highest of 16,710 (62 schools have the same figure) | joint 294th highest of 401 (4 schools have the same figure) |
| Any SEN | 2025/26 | 12.3% | joint 14,441st highest of 16,706 (47 schools have the same figure) | 333rd highest of 401 |
| SEN support | 2025/26 | 11.3% | joint 12,488th highest of 16,706 (80 schools have the same figure) | joint 268th highest of 401 (5 schools have the same figure) |
| Education, health and care plans | 2025/26 | 1% | joint 15,577th highest of 16,706 (194 schools have the same figure) | joint 391st highest of 401 (6 schools have the same figure) |
| Teachers (FTE) | 2024/25 | 8.7 | - | - |
| Teachers (headcount) | 2024/25 | 11 | - | - |
| Teaching assistants (FTE) | 2024/25 | 6.7 | - | - |
| Pupils per teacher | 2024/25 | 23.3 | joint 3,752nd highest of 16,147 (171 schools have the same figure) | joint 56th highest of 392 (6 schools have the same figure) |
| Pupils per adult | 2024/25 | 11.9 | joint 4,821st highest of 16,163 (231 schools have the same figure) | joint 90th highest of 392 (10 schools have the same figure) |
| Teacher turnover | 2024/25 | 28.2% | joint 2,288th highest of 16,165 (15 schools have the same figure) | 75th highest of 392 |
| Teachers taking sickness absence | 2024/25 | 30.8% | - | - |
| Sickness days lost per teacher (all teachers) | 2024/25 | 0.9 | - | - |
| Places | 2023/24 | 180 | - | - |
| Pupils | 2023/24 | 173 | - | - |
| Unfilled places | 2023/24 | 3.9% | - | - |
"Nth highest of N" counts the schools of the same type in the same school year that have a figure, with the highest figure first. It says where a figure sits, not whether it is good: for absence and suspensions lower is usually better, while free school meals and special needs reflect who the school serves. Where other schools have exactly the same figure the position is called "joint" and the number of schools with that figure is given. A dash means no position is held, because only one school has a figure or every school has the same figure.
Ofsted inspections
- 02/11/2022 (school year 2022/23): Ungraded inspection (no grade given)
- 20/06/2013 (school year 2012/13): Good
- 25/11/2009 (school year 2009/10): Good
Figures: the yearly series on this page. Positions: open schools in England, built 2026-10-27 from the DfE releases held by WhatSchool (school census, absence, exclusions, workforce, key stage 2 and 4), Open Government Licence v3.0. Ofsted dates: Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026. DfE has not published key stage 2 progress since 2022/23, so each progress measure has one year.
Attendance and behaviour
iAbsence is the share of possible sessions (half days) missed, for full academic years (no 2019/20 figure is published). Pupils suspended at least once and permanent exclusions are shares of pupils; suspensions per 100 pupils counts every suspension. 2020/21 and 2021/22 were affected by COVID-19.Overall absence3.9% 2024/25
This school
2.7%
2016/17
3.6%
2017/18
2.9%
2018/19
2.2%
2020/21
5.5%
2021/22
4.8%
2022/23
4.1%
2023/24
3.9%
2024/25
Unauthorised absence0.5% 2024/25
This school
0.4%
2016/17
0.7%
2017/18
0.5%
2018/19
0.3%
2020/21
0.4%
2021/22
0.8%
2022/23
0.4%
2023/24
0.5%
2024/25
Pupils suspended at least once0.9% 2024/25
This school
0.4%
2017/18
0%
2018/19
0%
2019/20
0%
2020/21
0%
2021/22
0.5%
2022/23
0.5%
2023/24
0.9%
2024/25
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.8 2024/25
This school
0.4
2017/18
0.0
2018/19
0.0
2019/20
0.0
2020/21
0.0
2021/22
1.4
2022/23
2.0
2023/24
2.8
2024/25
Permanent exclusions0.00% 2024/25
This school
0.00%
2017/18
0.00%
2018/19
0.00%
2019/20
0.00%
2020/21
0.00%
2021/22
0.00%
2022/23
0.00%
2023/24
0.00%
2024/25
Pupils
iPupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) and special educational needs (SEN) are shares of all pupils on roll in the January census.Eligible for free school meals (census)8.7% 2025/26
This school
4.5%
2019/20
6%
2020/21
4.7%
2021/22
3.7%
2022/23
6.9%
2023/24
7%
2024/25
8.7%
2025/26
Any SEN12.3% 2025/26
This school
11.6%
2019/20
10.6%
2020/21
8.4%
2021/22
8.3%
2022/23
9.8%
2023/24
12.1%
2024/25
12.3%
2025/26
SEN support11.3% 2025/26
This school
10.7%
2019/20
10.1%
2020/21
7.9%
2021/22
8.3%
2022/23
7.8%
2023/24
11.7%
2024/25
11.3%
2025/26
Education, health and care plans1% 2025/26
This school
0.9%
2019/20
0.5%
2020/21
0.5%
2021/22
0%
2022/23
2%
2023/24
0.5%
2024/25
1%
2025/26
Staff
iTeacher numbers are full-time equivalents (FTE) or headcount from the November school workforce census. Turnover is the share of teachers who left in the year.Teachers (FTE)8.7 2024/25
This school
9.8
2017/18
9.7
2018/19
9.7
2019/20
9.3
2020/21
9.2
2021/22
9.7
2022/23
9.7
2023/24
8.7
2024/25
Teachers (headcount)11 2024/25
This school
14
2017/18
15
2018/19
13
2019/20
13
2020/21
12
2021/22
12
2022/23
12
2023/24
11
2024/25
Teaching assistants (FTE)6.7 2024/25
This school
7.3
2017/18
6.8
2018/19
6.3
2019/20
6.2
2020/21
4.9
2021/22
5.8
2022/23
5.7
2023/24
6.7
2024/25
Pupils per teacher23.3 2024/25
This school
20.8
2017/18
21.1
2018/19
20.8
2019/20
21.9
2020/21
22.0
2021/22
21.1
2022/23
20.1
2023/24
23.3
2024/25
Pupils per adult11.9 2024/25
This school
10.5
2017/18
10.9
2018/19
10.8
2019/20
11.4
2020/21
12.7
2021/22
12.0
2022/23
10.9
2023/24
11.9
2024/25
Teacher turnover28.2% 2024/25
This school
0%
2017/18
1.1%
2018/19
1.1%
2019/20
10.1%
2020/21
8%
2021/22
9.7%
2022/23
20.4%
2023/24
28.2%
2024/25
Teachers taking sickness absence30.8% 2024/25
This school
7.1%
2016/17
33.3%
2017/18
35.7%
2018/19
50%
2020/21
58.3%
2021/22
50%
2022/23
75%
2023/24
30.8%
2024/25
Sickness days lost per teacher (all teachers)0.9 2024/25
This school
0.3
2016/17
1.4
2017/18
4.6
2018/19
0.9
2020/21
6.0
2021/22
2.1
2022/23
5.3
2023/24
0.9
2024/25
Places
iPlaces and pupils come from the school capacity survey, so pupil numbers can differ from the January census figure.Places180 2023/24
This school
180
2015/16
180
2016/17
180
2017/18
180
2018/19
180
2020/21
180
2021/22
180
2022/23
180
2023/24
Pupils173 2023/24
This school
177
2015/16
181
2016/17
181
2017/18
180
2018/19
178
2020/21
179
2021/22
176
2022/23
173
2023/24
Unfilled places3.9% 2023/24
This school
1.7%
2015/16
0%
2016/17
0%
2017/18
0%
2018/19
1.1%
2020/21
0.6%
2021/22
2.2%
2022/23
3.9%
2023/24
All the numbers
iA dash means no published figure for that year. Each year is a school year, for example 2024/25 is September 2024 to August 2025.Yearly series held by WhatSchool from DfE school census, absence, exclusions, workforce, capacity and performance table releases. Series end at different years because DfE publishes them on different timetables. Latest-year values here can differ from the headline on another tab where DfE has revised a figure.Scroll sideways for more
| Measure | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall absence | - | - | 2.7% | 3.6% | 2.9% | - | 2.2% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 4.1% | 3.9% | - |
| Unauthorised absence | - | - | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.5% | - | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.5% | - |
| Pupils suspended at least once | - | - | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.9% | - |
| Suspensions per 100 pupils | - | - | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.8 | - |
| Permanent exclusions | - | - | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | - |
| Eligible for free school meals (census) | - | - | - | - | - | 4.5% | 6% | 4.7% | 3.7% | 6.9% | 7% | 8.7% |
| Any SEN | - | - | - | - | - | 11.6% | 10.6% | 8.4% | 8.3% | 9.8% | 12.1% | 12.3% |
| SEN support | - | - | - | - | - | 10.7% | 10.1% | 7.9% | 8.3% | 7.8% | 11.7% | 11.3% |
| Education, health and care plans | - | - | - | - | - | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0% | 2% | 0.5% | 1% |
| Teachers (FTE) | - | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 8.7 | - |
| Teachers (headcount) | - | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | - |
| Teaching assistants (FTE) | - | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.7 | - |
| Pupils per teacher | - | 21.2 | 21.2 | 20.8 | 21.1 | 20.8 | 21.9 | 22.0 | 21.1 | 20.1 | 23.3 | - |
| Pupils per adult | - | 11.5 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 12.7 | 12.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | - |
| Teacher turnover | 10.3% | 0% | 1.1% | 0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10.1% | 8% | 9.7% | 20.4% | 28.2% | - |
| Teachers taking sickness absence | 21.4% | 21.4% | 7.1% | 33.3% | 35.7% | - | 50% | 58.3% | 50% | 75% | 30.8% | - |
| Sickness days lost per teacher (all teachers) | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 4.6 | - | 0.9 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 5.3 | 0.9 | - |
| Places | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | - | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | - | - |
| Pupils | 178 | 177 | 181 | 181 | 180 | - | 178 | 179 | 176 | 173 | - | - |
| Unfilled places | 1.1% | 1.7% | 0% | 0% | 0% | - | 1.1% | 0.6% | 2.2% | 3.9% | - | - |
Where this school sits in England
iEach figure is placed among state-funded primary schools in England that report it for the same school year. "Higher than 70% of schools" means 70 in every 100 schools have a lower figure. This describes where a figure sits, not whether it is good: for absence and suspensions lower is usually better, while free school meals and special needs reflect who the school serves. It is not a ranking of the school.Scroll sideways for more
| Measure | This school | Year | Position | Schools compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall absence | 3.9% | 2024/25 | Higher than 17% of schools | 15,967 |
| Unauthorised absence | 0.5% | 2024/25 | Higher than 5% of schools | 15,967 |
| Pupils suspended at least once | 0.9% | 2024/25 | Higher than 58% of schools | 15,971 |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.6 | 2025/26 | Higher than 25% of schools | 16,358 |
| Pupils per adult | 10.5 | 2025/26 | Higher than 46% of schools | 16,358 |
| Teacher turnover | 28.2% | 2024/25 | Higher than 86% of schools | 15,868 |
| Sickness days lost per teacher (all teachers) | 0.9 | 2024/25 | Higher than 12% of schools | 15,016 |
| Eligible for free school meals (census) | 8.7% | 2025/26 | Higher than 15% of schools | 16,436 |
| Special educational needs | 12.3% | 2025/26 | Higher than 13% of schools | 16,436 |
| Education, health and care plans | 1% | 2025/26 | Higher than 6% of schools | 16,436 |
| English as an additional language | 12.8% | 2025/26 | Higher than 56% of schools | 16,436 |
| Pupils on roll | 195 | year not recorded | Higher than 35% of schools | 16,437 |
Get Information about Schools and DfE school-level releases (school census, absence, exclusions, workforce, finance) held by WhatSchool; 24,734 open schools in England, built 2026-10-24 from the Get Information about Schools extract of 2026-10-24. Open Government Licence v3.0.
See also: Results · Disadvantage