Hesters Way Primary School

Hesters Way Primary School is a small, inclusive primary serving a relatively deprived community, with high proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Safeguarding is met. The school is particularly strong in its early years provision, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Children get a nurturing and ambitious start, needs are identified early, and staff provide tailored support, including speech and language and phonics help. Leaders are ambitious and well supported by robust governance, and pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from a broad personal development and enrichment offer. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching are secure overall. Pupils typically progress well, and attainment by the end of Year 6 is close to national averages in reading and mathematics, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. However, attendance is a significant concern: overall absence and persistent absence are well above national averages, and leaders recognise that work with parents and carers needs to go further. Teaching is generally effective, but checks on pupils’ understanding are not consistently used to adapt teaching or deepen pupils’ knowledge. Some pupils who join key stage 2 with very low starting points also remain below national expectations by Year 6.

Strengths

• Highly effective early years provision with a nurturing, inclusive and ambitious start for children.
• Early identification of needs and tailored support before children begin Reception Year.
• High-quality staff-pupil interactions and a sharp focus on early reading and phonics.
• Highly successful commitment to inclusion for pupils with SEND, EAL and disadvantaged pupils.
• Effective use of additional funding and well-trained staff to adapt the curriculum.
• Robust leadership and governance with ambitious subject leaders and high-quality staff training.
• Well-structured personal development and PSHE programme responsive to local issues.
• Pupils feel safe, respected and behave calmly and respectfully, with bullying dealt with promptly.
• Highly effective individualised support for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.
• Broad enrichment and leadership opportunities, including outdoor learning, residential trips and school council.
• Pupils typically progress well, and disadvantaged pupils often outperform national averages in reading.

Areas for Improvement

• Overall absence and persistent absence remain well above national averages.
• Leaders need to strengthen attendance work with parents and carers to secure higher attendance.
• Teachers do not consistently use checks on pupils’ understanding to adapt teaching or help pupils make connections between concepts.
• Some pupils joining key stage 2 with very low starting points remain below national expectations by the end of Year 6.
• Writing attainment has been below the national average over the latest three-year period.

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 Hesters Way Primary School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.4% 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 Hesters Way 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 Hesters Way Primary School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% 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, 38.0% of pupils at Hesters Way Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.2% 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 Hesters Way Primary School received £9,689 and spent £10,130 for each of its 171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £96,000 (£560 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 Cheltenham · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Hesters Way Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hesters Way Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Hesters Way Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hesters Way Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Hesters Way Primary School have?

Hesters Way Primary School has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hesters Way Primary School cover?

Hesters Way Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hesters Way Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hesters Way Primary School?

Hesters Way Primary School is at DILL Avenue, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 0ES.