Heather Garth Primary School Academy

Heather Garth Primary School Academy is an inclusive and welcoming standalone academy that is performing at the expected standard overall, though several important areas need attention. The school has high expectations for attendance and behaviour, and pupils attend regularly, behave respectfully, and feel safe. Early years provision is a clear strength, with children making effective progress from their starting points. The school also has a well-developed personal development programme, strong phonics teaching, and effective use of pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have built positive relationships with families and the community, and staff benefit from a range of professional development opportunities. However, the quality of education is not consistently strong enough. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance are all identified as needing attention. Teachers do not always check for misconceptions or correct gaps in pupils' basic skills, so errors in spelling and handwriting persist over time. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is variable because some individual plans do not match learning needs precisely. Leaders have been too slow to tackle inconsistencies in teaching, and governance does not challenge them sufficiently to drive improvement. As a result, some pupils, including those with SEND, are not as well prepared for the next stage of education as they should be. The inspection took place on 30 June 2026 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and a well-above-average proportion of pupils with SEN support. It is overseen by a board of trustees and benefits from partnerships with the local authority and nearby schools. While there are clear strengths, leaders must act more swiftly and consistently to raise teaching quality, address gaps in basic skills, and ensure that support for SEND pupils is precisely matched to their needs.

Strengths

• High expectations for attendance and punctuality, with attendance above the national average.
• Pupils are respectful, behave well, and bullying is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start and effective progress from their starting points.
• The school is welcoming and inclusive, with effective support for pupils with additional needs.
• A varied personal development programme offers leadership opportunities and career experiences.
• Phonics teaching is effective, and there is a strong focus on reading and vocabulary.
• Pupil premium funding is used well to support disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders foster positive relationships with families and the community.
• Staff wellbeing and professional development are promoted effectively.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent quality of teaching across the school.
• Teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps in pupils' basic skills.
• Errors in spelling and handwriting persist over time.
• SEND support plans do not always align precisely with individual learning needs.
• Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to secure improvements in some areas.
• Governance does not challenge leaders sufficiently to bring about improvement.
• Pupils' knowledge and understanding of different faiths is not detailed.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of education as 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 Heather Garth Primary School Academy attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.9% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Heather Garth Primary School 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 Heather Garth Primary School Academy had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% 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, 28.5% of pupils at Heather Garth Primary School Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Heather Garth Primary School Academy received £7,500 and spent £7,522 for each of its 226 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £82,000 (£363 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.

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What is Heather Garth Primary School Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Heather Garth Primary School Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Heather Garth Primary School Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Heather Garth Primary School Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Heather Garth Primary School Academy have?

Heather Garth Primary School Academy has 221 pupils on roll.

What age range does Heather Garth Primary School Academy cover?

Heather Garth Primary School Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Heather Garth Primary School Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Heather Garth Primary School Academy?

Heather Garth Primary School Academy is at Billingley View, Bolton-on-Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S63 8ES.