Icknield Walk First School
Poplar Drive, Royston, SG8 7EZOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Icknield Walk First School is a primary school in Royston for ages 3 to 9. It is one of the 583 schools in Hertfordshire. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 25 March 2025, report published 21 May 2025
This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years provision
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 25 March 2025
Pupils attend school with enthusiasm, eager to learn and engage with teachers and peers. They know they can speak up and share their thoughts, feelings and opinions. This is because staff provide thoughtful guidance to ensure pupils feel safe, secure and happy. Staff members have high expectations and, generally, pupils behave well. Children in the early years show a strong understanding of the school rules and routines. Well-designed and highly engaging activities ensure they develop well both socially and academically. Across the school, most pupils achieve well, particularly in reading. Pupils learn to collaborate and share knowledge and skills with those in other year groups. This fosters many important skills, such as empathy and compassion. In these mixed-age groups, staff also provide pupils with meaningful opportunities to debate and discuss issues and ideas in a considered way. There are ample opportunities for pupils to develop their interests. These rich experiences are well planned. They include after-school clubs, educational trips and workshops to enhance pupils' learning. Staff work to reduce barriers to ensure that pupils can participate.
What the school should improve
- In a few subjects, the curriculum is not as well developed as it is in other subjects. This means that teachers are sometimes not clear about the content that needs to be taught in these subjects, for example. This means that, in these subjects, pupils sometimes do not learn as well as they do in others. The school should ensure that the curriculum intent is consistently clear across all subjects.
- In a few subjects, misconceptions are not addressed as precisely as they could be. This means that pupils continue to use misconceptions, which affects their progress through the curriculum, as subsequent knowledge is built on insecure or incorrect foundational knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers identify and address pupils' misconceptions accurately so that pupils' knowledge and understanding develop securely across the full range of subjects.
Pupil numbers and mix
335 pupils on roll, with places for 360
Schools near Icknield Walk First School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School | 0.3 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good to outstanding | 69% met the expected standard |
| Studlands Rise First School | 0.4 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good to outstanding | Not published |
| Tannery Drift School | 0.7 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good to outstanding | Not published |
| Roman Way Academy | 0.8 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
| Melbourn Primary School | 3 miles | Report card: Expected standard | 62% met the expected standard |
School details
- School type
- Community school
- Sector
- Local authority maintained
- Age range
- 3 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Nursery classes
- Yes
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jane Sherwood
- Phone
- 01763243392
- Address
- Poplar Drive, Royston, SG8 7EZ
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- URN
- 117278
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.