Hillsgrove Primary School

Hillsgrove Primary School is performing well, continuing its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2018. The school has high aspirations for its students and provides a supportive and engaging environment where pupils feel safe and valued. The curriculum is aligned with national standards, and there is a clear focus on supporting all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), although some curriculum areas are still being developed. Overall, pupils enjoy their education and benefit from various extracurricular activities that enhance their school experience.

Strengths

• Pupils express a strong sense of happiness and enjoyment at school.
• Leaders maintain high expectations for both learning and behaviour.
• The curriculum is ambitious and thoughtfully structured.
• Strong leadership ensures the quality of education remains good despite staffing changes.
• Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum thinking in some subjects is not yet securely embedded.
• Learning of pupils with SEND is not always checked routinely to address misconceptions.

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 Hillsgrove Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Hillsgrove 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 Hillsgrove Primary School had 24.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 13.2% of pupils at Hillsgrove Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 8 pupils.

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 Hillsgrove Primary School received £7,481 and spent £7,538 for each of its 311 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £49,000 (£158 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Amadeus Primary Academies Trust, income was £7,434 and spending £7,521 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 Bexley · Bexley local authority: places and applications

Hillsgrove Primary School is part of Amadeus Primary Academies Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Castilion Primary School London
• Old Bexley Church of England School Bexley
• Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church of England School Sidcup
• St Paulinus Church of England Primary School Dartford
• St Paul's Cray Church of England Primary School Orpington

What is Hillsgrove Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hillsgrove Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Hillsgrove Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hillsgrove Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Hillsgrove Primary School have?

Hillsgrove Primary School has 280 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hillsgrove Primary School cover?

Hillsgrove Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hillsgrove Primary School?

Hillsgrove Primary School is at Sidmouth Road, Welling, Kent, DA16 1DR.