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Hatfield Community Free School

Primary · Hatfield · AL10 8ES

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 March 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

406 pupils · 97% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
24.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
52.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
18.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.hcfs.org.uk/
URN
138201

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 37 families named it first for 46 Reception places, 0.80 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2024 entry went to 1165.8 m (≈0.72 mi); distance decided places in 8 of the 12 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2015 to 2026. At its inspection on 11 March 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.80 first-choice applications per place

46 places offered · 37 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2024 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1165.8 m (≈0.72 mi)

measurement method not stated by the council.

Furthest child admitted, by admission rule (2026 entry)

Distance
6111.36 m (≈3.80 mi)
Nearest School
751.23 m (≈0.47 mi)

Places were not all filled that year, so these distances show how far the furthest child admitted under each rule lived, not how close you needed to be.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

60 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
57%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
10%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
105
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school57%
Median of its 12 closest peers62.5%
Hertfordshire average63.8%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Edward Pauling Primary SchoolFeltham · 23 miles awayRequires improvement68%
Heathrow Primary SchoolWest Drayton · 21 miles awayGood79%
Meryfield Primary SchoolBorehamwood · 7 miles awayGood58%
New Town Primary SchoolReading · 37 miles awayGood61%
Woodside Primary SchoolCroydon · 27 miles awayGood (2019)77%
Little Mead Primary AcademyBristol · 103 miles awayNeeds attention39%
Parkhill Junior SchoolIlford · 17 miles awayGood82%
Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, DartfordDartford · 28 miles awayGood56%
Cecil Road Primary and Nursery SchoolGravesend · 34 miles awayGood61%
Conway Primary SchoolLondon · 23 miles awayGood73%
St Anthony's Catholic Primary SchoolSlough · 23 miles awayNo current grade55%
Frizinghall Primary SchoolBradford · 156 miles awayNeeds attention64%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 32% (Hertfordshire 58%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 18% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 4%) · Any other White background 14% (Hertfordshire 11%, England 7%) · Black African 8% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 5%) · Asian Pakistani 4% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 3% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
11.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

2.63 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Hertfordshire: 2.92 suspensions and 0.02 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 20% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

60.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,094; 19% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,234
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 10% (9%) · educational supplies 8% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £927,000; in-year balance +£22,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications17.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work21.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health52.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier35.2%62.3%
Social housing39.4%17.1%
Privately rented25.4%20.5%
Detached houses5.1%22.9%
Flats21.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms19.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van24.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01023922 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£360,000336 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£300,000–£450,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (36)£574,000
Semi-detached (77)£453,000
Terraced (136)£362,000
Flat (87)£240,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
6an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
28an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools