John Hellins Primary School

John Hellins Primary School is a highly effective, aspirational and inclusive community primary school where pupils are happy, feel safe and achieve exceptionally well. Inspectors found exceptional quality of education, exemplary behaviour and strong personal development, with an ambitious curriculum delivered through strong teaching. Reading is a particular strength: early reading and phonics are taught expertly, home reading books are precisely matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge, and the library is central to school life. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and supported effectively, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Leadership and governance are strong, staff are well supported and pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities. Safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is early years, where key learning is not always clearly defined and resources and interactions do not consistently help children revisit and embed earlier learning, so some children do not achieve as well as they could. This is a focused improvement point in an otherwise very strong school.

Strengths

• Reading culture is exceptional, with expert phonics teaching and books precisely matched to pupils’ sounds
• The library is central to school life and helps foster a love of reading
• The curriculum is ambitious and pupils achieve very well across subjects
• Teaching is strong, engaging and skilfully checks pupils’ understanding
• Teachers identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and they treat each other with empathy, courtesy and respect
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported highly effectively
• Pupils’ personal development is prioritised through a broad enrichment programme
• Disadvantaged pupils are particularly well considered in the wider offer
• Leadership is exceptional and governance provides creative, strategic direction
• Staff are well supported, with regular and innovative training and attention to workload and well-being
• Children get a secure and happy start in Reception and are well prepared for key stage 1
• Parents are incredibly positive about the school

Areas for Improvement

• Key learning in the early years curriculum is not always explicitly defined
• Early years resources and interactions do not consistently promote repetition and embedding of learning, so some children do not achieve as well as they could

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at John Hellins Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at John Hellins Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 John Hellins Primary School had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 7.9% of pupils at John Hellins Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 John Hellins Primary School received £6,939 and spent £7,371 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £53,000 (£264 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Towcester · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

What is John Hellins Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John Hellins Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was John Hellins Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

John Hellins Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does John Hellins Primary School have?

John Hellins Primary School has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does John Hellins Primary School cover?

John Hellins Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are John Hellins Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 93% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is John Hellins Primary School?

John Hellins Primary School is at Brownswood Drive, Potterspury, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 7PG.