Henderson Green Primary Academy

Henderson Green Primary School is currently rated as requiring improvement overall, reflecting mixed outcomes in various aspects of education and leadership. The school has experienced significant changes in staffing and leadership recently, contributing to inconsistencies in educational quality for pupils. Although there are positive signs of improvement, many students, particularly in early years, are not yet receiving the education they need to prepare them adequately for future stages. The school is under new leadership and is part of The Heart Education Trust, which offers a supportive context for development, but there are still pressing challenges that need to be addressed urgently.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive relationships with adults and feel safe.
• Behaviour in the school is good, with pupils eager to learn and engage with their peers.
• The school offers a variety of activities, helping to develop pupils' interests and understanding of diversity.
• There are green shoots of improvement in the curriculum, especially in geography and art.
• High-quality training for staff is being provided to improve teaching practices.

Areas for Improvement

• Many pupils do not learn well due to inconsistent quality of education.
• Some pupils with SEND do not receive tailored provisions to meet their needs.
• Teachers lack sufficiently developed subject and pedagogical knowledge in some areas.
• The early years provision is not well established, leaving children unprepared for Year 1.
• Monitoring and evaluation systems are still in early development stages, limiting understanding of effective practices.

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 Henderson Green Primary Academy attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.0% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Henderson Green Primary 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 Henderson Green Primary Academy had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.2% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Henderson Green Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% 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 Henderson Green Primary Academy received £9,567 and spent £10,248 for each of its 162 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £49,000 (£305 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Unity Schools Partnership, income was £8,494 and spending £8,500 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 Norwich · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Henderson Green Primary Academy is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Valley Primary Academy Norwich
• Colman Junior School Norwich
• Colman Infant School Norwich
• Heartsease Primary Academy Norwich
• Robert Kett Primary School Wymondham
• Silfield Oak Primary Academy Wymondham
• Lingwood Primary Academy Lingwood
• Breckland School Brandon
• Sir Peter Hall School Bury St. Edmunds
• Abbots Green Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds

What is Henderson Green Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Henderson Green Primary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Henderson Green Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Henderson Green Primary Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Henderson Green Primary Academy have?

Henderson Green Primary Academy has 148 pupils on roll.

What age range does Henderson Green Primary Academy cover?

Henderson Green Primary Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Henderson Green Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Henderson Green Primary Academy?

Henderson Green Primary Academy is at Earlham Grove, Norwich, Norfolk, NR5 8DX.