Shepherd Primary
Shepherd's Lane, Rickmansworth, WD3 8JJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Foad
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- South West Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 300
- Pupils on roll
- 179
- URN
- 117096
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923773478
About this school
Shepherd Primary is a community primary school in Rickmansworth. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 179 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Shepherd Primary, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 41 | 42 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 71% | 37% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 81% | 48% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 86% | 52% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 86% | 44% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 107.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 109.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Shepherd Primary has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 37% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 230 |
| 2023/24 | 213 |
| 2024/25 | 189 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Shepherd Primary compares
Shepherd Primary ranked 316th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37% | 7.3% | 25.9% | 179 | — |
| St John Catholic Primary School | 50% | 7% | 21.5% | 107 | 0.2 miles |
| St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 79% | 3.8% | 10.3% | 275 | 0.2 miles |
| Arnett Hills Junior Mixed and Infant School | 81% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 198 | 0.6 miles |
| St Mary's Rickmansworth CofE Primary School | 56% | 4.4% | 12.1% | 194 | 1.0 miles |
| Chorleywood Primary School | 80% | 3.4% | 8% | 205 | 1.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.86%
- English as an additional language
- 27.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.31%
- Persistent absence
- 21.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John Catholic Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Rickmansworth
-
St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Rickmansworth
-
Arnett Hills Junior Mixed and Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Rickmansworth
-
St Mary's Rickmansworth CofE Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Rickmansworth
-
Chorleywood Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Rickmansworth
Other schools in Rickmansworth
Shepherd Primary ranks 15th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Rickmansworth.
- Arnett Hills Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Chenies School Primary
- Chorleywood Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Chorleywood CofE School Primary
- Harvey Road Primary School Primary
- Little Green Junior School Primary
- Malvern Way Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Maple Cross Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Rickmansworth Park Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Sarratt Church of England Primary School Primary
- St John Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Rickmansworth CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Shepherd Primary teach?
- Shepherd Primary teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Rickmansworth.
- Who is the headteacher of Shepherd Primary?
- The headteacher of Shepherd Primary is Mrs Claire Foad, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Shepherd Primary been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Shepherd Primary, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Shepherd Primary?
- Shepherd Primary has 179 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Shepherd Primary full?
- Shepherd Primary has capacity for 300 pupils and 179 on roll (60%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Shepherd Primary a faith school?
- No. Shepherd Primary has no designated religious character.
- Does Shepherd Primary have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Shepherd Primary as having nursery classes.
- How have Shepherd Primary's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 37% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Shepherd Primary compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Shepherd Primary ranked 316th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Shepherd Primary's absence rate?
- Shepherd Primary's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Shepherd Primary's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Shepherd Primary's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.