Coates Way JMI and Nursery School
Coates Way, Garston, Watford, WD25 9NW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fiona Hayes
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Watford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 223
- URN
- 117340
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923670341
About this school
Coates Way JMI and Nursery School is a community primary school in Watford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 223 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Coates Way JMI and Nursery School, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 70% | 47% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 10% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 77% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 83% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 73% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.30 | - | - |
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 Coates Way JMI and Nursery School 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 | 55% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 47% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 230 |
| 2023/24 | 221 |
| 2024/25 | 226 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Coates Way JMI and Nursery School compares
Coates Way JMI and Nursery School ranked 291st of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47% | 5.6% | 22.2% | 223 | — |
| St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School | 71% | 4.5% | 12% | 268 | 0.3 miles |
| Mount Pleasant Lane Primary School | 53% | 5.2% | 13.6% | 200 | 0.8 miles |
| The Grove Academy | 64% | 6.6% | 33.3% | 473 | 0.8 miles |
| Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery | 74% | 5.3% | 24.9% | 238 | 0.9 miles |
| Kingsway Junior School | 80% | 4.9% | 28.4% | 235 | 1.2 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)
- 22.22%
- English as an additional language
- 24.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.59%
- Persistent absence
- 14.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Mount Pleasant Lane Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
The Grove Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Watford
-
Kingsway Junior School1.2 miles
Primary · Watford
Other schools in Watford
Coates Way JMI and Nursery School ranks 27th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Watford.
- Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Ascot Road Primary School Primary
- Beechfield School Primary
- Bromet Primary School Primary
- Cassiobury Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Cassiobury Junior School Primary
- Central Primary School Primary
- Chater Infant School Primary
- Chater Junior School Primary
- Cherry Tree Primary School Primary
- Field Junior School Primary
- Greenfields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Coates Way JMI and Nursery School teach?
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Watford.
- Who is the headteacher of Coates Way JMI and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of Coates Way JMI and Nursery School is Mrs Fiona Hayes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Coates Way JMI and Nursery School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Coates Way JMI and Nursery School, 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 Coates Way JMI and Nursery School?
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School has 223 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Coates Way JMI and Nursery School full?
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School has capacity for 236 pupils and 223 on roll (94%), 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 Coates Way JMI and Nursery School a faith school?
- No. Coates Way JMI and Nursery School has no designated religious character.
- Does Coates Way JMI and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Coates Way JMI and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- How have Coates Way JMI and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 47% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Coates Way JMI and Nursery School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School ranked 291st of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Coates Way JMI and Nursery School's absence rate?
- Coates Way JMI and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Coates Way JMI and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Coates Way JMI and Nursery School'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.