Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School
Blackthorn Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 3JP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr James Berry
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 418
- URN
- 133488
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707339079
About this school
Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School is a community primary school in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 418 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 59 | 55 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 32% | 35% | 80% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 2% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 59% | 60% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 42% | 44% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 42% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 99.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
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 Swallow Dell Primary 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 | 32% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 35% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 422 |
| 2023/24 | 419 |
| 2024/25 | 422 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School compares
Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School ranked 50th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80% | 6.2% | 29.8% | 418 | — |
| Holwell Primary School | 77% | 4.8% | 32.8% | 397 | 0.4 miles |
| Panshanger Primary School | 80% | 4% | 10% | 240 | 0.5 miles |
| Peartree Primary School | 75% | 5.8% | 36.9% | 184 | 0.6 miles |
| Watchlytes Primary School | 76% | 6% | 31.5% | 158 | 0.6 miles |
| Our Lady Catholic Primary School | 70% | 5.2% | 19.5% | 204 | 0.7 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)
- 29.79%
- English as an additional language
- 10%
- Overall absence
- 6.15%
- Persistent absence
- 15.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holwell Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Panshanger Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Peartree Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Watchlytes Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Our Lady Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School ranks 1st of the 15 ranked primary schools in Welwyn Garden City.
- Applecroft School Primary
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
- Springmead Primary School Primary
- St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford Primary
- Templewood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School teach?
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School is Mr James Berry, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Swallow Dell Primary 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 big is Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School?
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School has 418 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School full?
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 450 pupils and 418 on roll (93%), 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 Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- No. Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School has no designated religious character.
- Does Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School have?
- The schools register lists Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 32% in 2022/23 and 80% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School rank locally?
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School ranked 50th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Swallow Dell Primary 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.