Hopping Hill Primary School

Hopping Hill Primary School is a caring, well-led community primary where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from strong relationships with staff. The curriculum is broad and sequenced, reading is a high priority from Reception, and pupils with SEND are generally included well and achieve. There is a wide extra-curricular offer and effective personal development, including work on health, safety, diversity and equality. Safeguarding is effective, staff are proud to work there, and governors know the school well. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher has been in post since 2020. The main areas for improvement are precision and focus. In some subjects, the curriculum does not set out exactly what pupils should know and remember, so activities can lack sharpness and pupils' learning is less secure. In early years, some activities are not purposefully tied to the planned curriculum, meaning some children do not gain important knowledge and skills as quickly or securely as they could and are less well prepared for key stage 1.

Strengths

• Strong relationships and a safe, caring culture where pupils feel listened to
• High expectations of behaviour, with pupils showing positive attitudes and good learning habits
• A sequenced curriculum that subject leaders continually refine
• A high-priority reading programme with effective phonics teaching and support for pupils who fall behind
• Staff with strong subject knowledge who explain clearly and check pupils' understanding
• Effective adaptation of learning for pupils with SEND, including personalised support where needed
• A wide extra-curricular offer, including sports, cooking, sewing, forest school and residential trips
• Effective personal development covering safety, health, emotions, diversity and equality
• Calm and fair behaviour management with excellent support for pupils who struggle to regulate
• Staff feel supported with workload and development, and governors know the school well
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not identify essential knowledge precisely enough
• Learning activities sometimes lack focus, so pupils do not build knowledge securely
• Some early years activities do not engage children purposefully with the planned curriculum
• Some children are less well prepared for key stage 1 than they should be

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 Hopping Hill Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.0% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Hopping Hill 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 Hopping Hill Primary School had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 1.9% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Hopping Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Hopping Hill Primary School received £6,944 and spent £7,007 for each of its 422 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £123,000 (£291 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

What is Hopping Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hopping Hill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Hopping Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hopping Hill Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Hopping Hill Primary School have?

Hopping Hill Primary School has 423 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hopping Hill Primary School cover?

Hopping Hill Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hopping Hill Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hopping Hill Primary School?

Hopping Hill Primary School is at Pendle Road, Duston, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN5 6DT.