Herons' Moor Academy

Herons’ Moor Academy is a nurturing and caring primary school where pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. This was its first graded inspection under section 5, and the school was judged good across all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Leaders, supported by the Cabot Learning Federation, have built a clear and ambitious curriculum with communication at its heart, and pupils with SEND are identified well and supported effectively. Reading is a notable strength, behaviour around the school is positive, and pupils benefit from a wide range of leadership roles, clubs and community activities. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, staff feel well supported, and safeguarding is effective.

Strengths

• Nurturing and caring environment where pupils and staff feel a strong sense of belonging
• Pupils are kind, respectful and behave well in lessons and around the school
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils, with effective emotional and academic support
• Ambitious curriculum with a clear focus on developing pupils’ communication and vocabulary
• Accurate identification of SEND and effective support that helps pupils access the curriculum
• Effective reading curriculum with expert staff support and extra help for pupils at risk of falling behind
• Pupils take on a wide range of leadership roles and contribute actively to the community
• Extensive range of clubs, trips and beyond-curriculum opportunities that develop pupils’ talents and interests
• Staff feel well supported and value bespoke professional development
• Highly effective trust support and strong accountability from the trust and academy council
• Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, assessment processes do not effectively identify what pupils know or inform future teaching
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge because teachers do not always correct errors or help pupils move on when ready
• Some pupils who are secure in their knowledge are not given work that lets them apply or deepen their understanding
• Teaching of handwriting and presentation is inconsistent, and expectations are not high enough across the 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 Herons' Moor Academy attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.4% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Herons' Moor Academy 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 Herons' Moor Academy had 26.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Herons' Moor Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 2024–25 Herons' Moor Academy received £6,251 and spent £6,894 for each of its 448 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £261,000 (£584 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Cabot Learning Federation, income was £8,647 and spending £8,763 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Weston-Super-Mare · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

Herons' Moor Academy is part of Cabot Learning Federation, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• Winterstoke Hundred Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Airfield Primary Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Haywood Village Academy North Somerset
• Hans Price Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Broadoak Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Uphill Village Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Lime Hills Academy Nailsea
• Woodlands Academy Bristol
• Waycroft Academy Bristol
• Evergreen Primary Academy Bristol

What is Herons' Moor Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Herons' Moor Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Herons' Moor Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Herons' Moor Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Herons' Moor Academy have?

Herons' Moor Academy has 447 pupils on roll.

What age range does Herons' Moor Academy cover?

Herons' Moor Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Herons' Moor Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Herons' Moor Academy?

Herons' Moor Academy is at Highlands Lane, Locking Castle, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS24 7DX.