Hempstalls Primary School

Hempstalls Primary School is a good school with outstanding behaviour and attitudes and outstanding personal development. Pupils achieve well, including in national tests and the wider curriculum, and they are described as caring, polite, tolerant and proud of their work. Reading is a priority, the curriculum is meticulously set out from early years to Year 6, and pupils with SEND are identified promptly and progress well. Attendance is high, safeguarding is effective, and leadership benefits from strong trust and governor support. The school provides an exceptional personal development programme, with pupils taking part in a wide range of experiences, clubs and responsibilities. Staff are well supported, parents are positive, and relationships between staff and pupils are strong. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5; it is an academy converter within The Creative Learning Partnership Trust. The main area to improve is that in some subjects staff do not always adapt learning precisely enough, so some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they could. Overall, the school has high expectations and a friendly, vibrant environment, with only this targeted curriculum adaptation issue identified for improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, including above national averages in tests and across the wider curriculum.
• Behaviour is exemplary; pupils are caring, polite, tolerant and happy learning together.
• Reading is a priority, with an effective early reading programme and a strong reading culture.
• The curriculum is meticulously set out from early years to Year 6 and identifies important knowledge.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and explain concepts with clarity and enthusiasm.
• Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and accurately and progress well.
• Attendance is high, and leaders act early when attendance begins to decline.
• Personal development is exceptional, with a wide range of inspiring experiences and clubs.
• Pupils develop confidence, resilience and a strong understanding of British values.
• Leadership is strong, with effective trust and governor support and good staff development.
• Staff feel supported, and workload and well-being are prioritised.
• Parents are positive about the school and the support their children receive.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, learning is not adapted precisely enough to support all pupils' progress through the curriculum.
• Some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they could because learning is occasionally not adapted effectively.

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 Hempstalls Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Hempstalls 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 Hempstalls Primary School had 28.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.4% 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, 13.4% of pupils at Hempstalls Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 2024–25 Hempstalls Primary School received £7,687 and spent £7,724 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £124,000 (£296 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Creative Learning Partnership Trust, income was £8,526 and spending £8,368 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 Newcastle · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Hempstalls Primary School is part of The Creative Learning Partnership Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Langdale Primary School Newcastle
• Thursfield Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• James Bateman Middle School Biddulph
• Manor Hill First School Stone
• Green Lea First School Stafford
• Beaconfields Primary School Stafford
• Parkside Primary School Stafford
• Greenhall Stafford
• Doxey Academy Stafford
• Burleyfields Primary School Stafford

What is Hempstalls Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hempstalls Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Hempstalls Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hempstalls Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Hempstalls Primary School have?

Hempstalls Primary School has 501 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hempstalls Primary School cover?

Hempstalls Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hempstalls Primary School?

Hempstalls Primary School is at Collard Avenue, Cross Heath, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 9LH.