The Reddings Primary School Review 2026: Strong KS2 outcomes and a well-organised school day

One of the first things parents tend to notice is the structure, both in the timetable and in how the school talks about learning. The school day is mapped tightly, including a daily class reading slot just before home time, and assemblies that rotate through reading, personal, social and health education, singing, and celebration across the week.

Leadership is currently in the hands of Mrs Kerrie Haswell, who describes herself as the new headteacher and emphasises partnership with families, kindness, ambition, and resilience. Academic outcomes at the end of Key Stage 2 are a clear strength. In 2024, 74.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, ahead of the England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 17.33% reached greater depth compared with 8% across England.

This is a state school, so there are no tuition fees. Families’ practical decisions tend to centre on admissions competitiveness and wraparound arrangements, both of which are relatively clearly set out.

In a school where pupils span ages 3 to 11, the daily experience has to work for very young children and for near-secondary pupils. The Reddings leans into that by making inclusion and relationships an explicit part of the culture. External speakers are used to broaden perspectives, and recent visits have included Olympic and Paralympic athletes speaking to pupils about their lives and training. That kind of exposure does two jobs at once, it builds horizons while giving pupils concrete examples of discipline, goal-setting, and dealing with setbacks.

The social picture described in official reporting is reassuring. Pupils get on well together, they consider each other’s feelings, behaviour is calm, and pupils report feeling safe. Those points matter most for families weighing the early years and Key Stage 1 experience, where a child’s confidence and willingness to speak up can be as important as the content of lessons.

A second strand of the school’s identity is the language it uses about barriers and support. The school’s stated aims include developing resilience and pride, removing barriers through a therapeutic approach, and building engaged, curious learners through an enriched curriculum. In practice, this aligns with how special educational needs and/or disabilities are described in the most recent inspection, prompt identification, staff expertise, and adaptations to teaching and resources so pupils can access the curriculum.

Leadership has been a story in itself over the last couple of years, with the inspection report noting that assistant headteachers jointly led the school from September 2023 until the headteacher at the time took up post in January 2024. The school’s current website, meanwhile, names Mrs Kerrie Haswell as headteacher. The school does not publish an exact start date for her appointment online, so it is safest to treat the tenure detail as not confirmed publicly.

The headline Key Stage 2 picture is stronger than England averages across the core measures.

• In 2024, 74.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. The England average is 62%.

• At the higher standard, 17.33% achieved greater depth in reading, writing and maths, compared with 8% across England.

The scaled scores sit comfortably above the national benchmark of 100, with reading at 107, maths at 106, and grammar, punctuation and spelling at 109. That combination suggests the school is not relying on one subject to carry the data, it is delivering broadly consistent outcomes.

Rankings in context also matter. Ranked 3013th in England and 7th in Hemel Hempstead for primary outcomes, this places the school above England average and comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England. These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data.

For parents comparing nearby options, this is the moment where FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool are genuinely useful, because a top-quartile outcome can still sit alongside very different admissions pressure and day-to-day culture from one school to the next.

Reading is treated as a central lever, not a bolt-on. The inspection report describes regular reading and story time through the day, starting in Nursery, alongside daily phonics for pupils at the early stages of learning to read. Checks on sound knowledge are described as precise, and reading books are matched closely to pupils’ phonics knowledge, with additional support for pupils who fall behind. The implication for families is straightforward, early gaps are less likely to quietly compound.

The school’s own curriculum narrative reinforces the same direction, a language-rich curriculum built around high-quality texts, with cross-curricular links when they improve learning. In English, the school describes whole-class guided reading and deliberate use of shorter extracts to create curiosity about books from class libraries, with the aim of getting children to read more independently.

Across subjects, sequencing and cumulative knowledge are emphasised in the inspection report. It describes staff setting out key knowledge and skills logically so learning builds year on year, with frequent revisiting of key content in many subjects. That kind of approach tends to suit pupils who do best with clarity and routine, especially in maths where foundational knowledge can otherwise become fragile.

The main academic development point is also clear. In a few subjects, teaching does not consistently make the most important knowledge explicit or check that pupils remember it, which can leave gaps and reduce how well pupils connect current learning to earlier content. For parents, this is a helpful question to raise at open events, which subjects are being tightened up, and how leaders are checking improvement.

As a primary school, the key “destination” is secondary transition rather than public exam outcomes. Older inspection material notes that most pupils transfer to local secondary schools, which is typical for a community primary. The practical takeaway is that families should consider The Reddings alongside the relevant Hertfordshire secondary transfer process and the likely travel pattern for their child from Bennetts End.

Within the curriculum itself, there is explicit attention to preparing Year 6 pupils for next steps, including subject language that frames learning as a foundation for secondary school and beyond. That is not the same as naming specific destinations, but it does indicate the school is thinking about the transition as a designed stage rather than an administrative handover.

Reception admissions are coordinated by Hertfordshire County Council rather than directly by the school. For September 2026 entry, the county timetable is explicit:

• Applications opened 03 November 2025.

• The on-time deadline was 15 January 2026.

• National allocation day was 16 April 2026.

• The deadline to accept or decline an offered place was 23 April 2026.

Competition for places is visible in the latest available demand snapshot. For the primary entry route, there were 60 applications for 23 offers, which is around 2.61 applications per place, and the school is recorded as oversubscribed. There is no published “last distance offered” figure in the provided dataset for this school, so families should avoid assuming proximity alone will be enough, and instead treat admissions as a live annual calculation.

For nursery, the process is different. The school states that nursery applications can be made at any time. It also sets out the funded entitlement structure and session times: 15 hours funded mornings from 8.45am to 11.45am, plus a further 15 hours subject to eligibility running 8.45am to 3.00pm, and a lunch club from 11.45am to 12.30pm.

Open events matter for a one-form-entry school because the “fit” question is often about daily routines and communication, not just results. The school’s admissions information has included Reception and Nursery tours during the 2025 to 2026 cycle, with booking via the school office.

Personal development is described as a strong feature, with additional pastoral support available for pupils who need it and a deliberate focus on helping pupils manage a healthy mind. These are the kinds of statements that become meaningful when you connect them to what the school day actually looks like, consistent routines, clear expectations, and adults pupils feel able to approach.

The safeguarding position is clearly stated in the most recent inspection report, and it is the sentence that matters most for parental reassurance: The latest Ofsted inspection in November 2024 confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is described as effective, including prompt identification and adaptations that help pupils learn the curriculum well. For many families, that translates into confidence that support is not an afterthought, it is part of core classroom practice.

The Reddings does not rely on generic claims here, it publishes a structured clubs timetable, and that specificity helps parents judge the week realistically.

A few examples from the current published programme include:

• Mixed Football for Year 1 and Year 2 at lunchtime, plus mixed football after school for Years 3 to 6.

• Multi Sports offered both after school for Years 1 and 2 and after school for Years 3 to 6, alongside a lunchtime multi-sports option for Reception.

• Drawing Club for Years 1 and 2, and a separate drawing slot for Years 3 to 6.

• Boxing Club and Target Games for Years 3 to 6, plus Gymnastics for Years 1 and 2.

• A dedicated Reading Club for Years 3 to 6 listed at lunchtime.

The implication is that clubs are not treated as occasional add-ons. They are built into lunch and after-school windows, which is helpful for working families deciding how many days a week a child can reasonably manage extended hours.

Beyond clubs, the wider enrichment picture includes educational visits and residential experiences for older pupils, which adds an important “growing up” component for Year 5 and Year 6. The school’s residential page is presented as a photo record rather than a detailed itinerary, so families who want the practical detail should ask directly about location, staffing ratios, and typical costs before planning.

The published school day is detailed and consistent across phases. Doors close at 08:50, the day ends at 15:15, and the school publishes the total weekly compulsory time as 32 hours and 5 minutes. A daily class reading slot is placed immediately before the end of day, which often helps children finish on something calm and predictable.

Wraparound care is also clearly described:

• Breakfast club runs 7:45am to 8:45am, priced at £3.00 per child per day.

• From September 2025, an after-school club is available on site and runs 3:15pm to 6:00pm daily, delivered by an external provider.

For transport, the key practical issue is usually walking distance for local families and the drop-off pattern around Bennetts End Road. The school does not publish a detailed parking plan on the pages reviewed, so parents should factor in time to observe peak times during an open event if driving is part of the routine.

• Admission pressure. With 60 applications for 23 offers in the available demand snapshot, competition is real. Families should plan a realistic set of preferences rather than relying on a single first choice.

• Leadership transition context. The most recent inspection sits alongside a period of leadership change, and the school’s current headteacher is presented as new on the website. Ask how leadership continuity is maintained and how curriculum improvements are being monitored.

• Curriculum consistency across subjects. The inspection identifies that in a few subjects the most important knowledge is not always made explicit or checked for retention, which can lead to gaps. It is worth asking which subjects are being strengthened and how progress is tracked.

• Wraparound is partly outsourced. The after-school club is provided on site by an external organisation. That can work well, but parents should confirm staffing, collection arrangements, and how communication works between school and provider.

This is a high-performing state primary with outcomes that sit comfortably above England averages and a clear, organised approach to the school day. The clubs programme is concrete and timetable-driven, and wraparound provision is available at both ends of the day.

Who it suits: families who want strong Key Stage 2 outcomes, predictable routines, and a school culture that emphasises inclusion, relationships, and personal development alongside academics. The main limiting factor is admissions competitiveness, so families serious about this option should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand practical proximity, then use Saved Schools to keep a realistic shortlist while allocations play out.