Harmans Water Primary School

Harmans Water Primary School is a caring, inclusive school where pupils are happy, safe and well supported. Safeguarding standards are met, and behaviour, attendance, early years, inclusion, leadership, and personal development are all judged at the expected standard. Leaders have created a positive culture, with strong pastoral support, effective work for vulnerable pupils, and a well-structured personal development programme. The school has seen significant leadership change, including a new headteacher appointed in September 2024, and leaders are described as reflective and supportive of staff. However, the school faces important challenges. Achievement by the end of key stage 2 is below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils perform significantly less well than their non-disadvantaged peers nationally. Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects, and some staff lack the expertise to deliver the wider curriculum fully. In lessons, teachers do not always check pupils' understanding well enough, so errors and misconceptions can persist, including in early years. Governors' support and challenge systems are not yet fully embedded. Leaders are acting quickly to address these issues, and there is early evidence of improvement, particularly in reading and some wider curriculum areas. The next steps focus on ensuring pupils achieve more securely by the end of KS2, equipping staff with the expertise to implement the full curriculum consistently, improving assessment and feedback across the curriculum, and strengthening governance.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe, and have positive relationships with staff who know them well.
• The school is highly inclusive, with effective systems to identify and support pupils with SEND and vulnerable pupils.
• Behaviour is good: pupils follow routines, settle quickly to learning, and show positive attitudes.
• Attendance is improving, with targeted support helping vulnerable pupils attend more regularly.
• Personal development is well planned through the 'Flourish Tree' programme, covering themes like online safety and mental health.
• Pastoral support is highly effective, and pupils know who to turn to for help with health and wellbeing.
• Pupils enjoy a rich variety of educational visits, sporting opportunities, and wider experiences that build confidence.
• Early years provision is well led, with purposeful environments, good adult interaction, and strong parent partnerships.
• Leaders are reflective, supportive of staff wellbeing, and have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.
• Staff benefit from positive professional learning, and support staff meet complex pupil needs well.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND receive effective support and make secure progress from their starting points.
• Phonics teaching is strong, with staff modelling sounds skilfully and teaching the scheme with precision.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement by the end of key stage 2 is below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance is significantly below national non-disadvantaged averages, with a large gap.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects, with some staff lacking subject knowledge and expertise.
• Teachers do not always check pupils' understanding effectively, so errors and misconceptions can persist.
• In early years, some children's handwriting and letter-formation errors are not addressed, limiting achievement by the end of Reception.
• Too many pupils are not well prepared for their next stage of education by the end of KS2.
• Governors' systems for robust support and challenge are new or not yet embedded effectively.
• Pupils' knowledge and understanding are not checked consistently well across the wider curriculum.

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 Harmans Water Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Harmans Water 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 Harmans Water Primary School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 18.4% of pupils at Harmans Water 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 Harmans Water Primary School received £7,080 and spent £7,387 for each of its 433 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £215,000 (-£495 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 Bracknell · Bracknell Forest local authority: places and applications

What is Harmans Water Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harmans Water Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Harmans Water Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harmans Water Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Harmans Water Primary School have?

Harmans Water Primary School has 445 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harmans Water Primary School cover?

Harmans Water Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Harmans Water Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Harmans Water Primary School?

Harmans Water Primary School is at Wellington Drive, Harmans Water, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 9NE.