Berkeley Academy

Berkeley Academy is a highly inclusive primary school where pupils are happy, polite and respectful, and parents describe a nurturing, caring community. Inspectors found strong provision across most areas, with pupils’ wider development standing out as exceptional. Safeguarding is effective. The school has a broad and balanced curriculum, reading is a key priority, and phonics is taught consistently, helping pupils achieve well in the Year 1 phonics check. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, and behaviour is calm and purposeful. Leadership is strong, staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported, and trustees understand their role in supporting and challenging leaders. Early years provision and most subjects are well sequenced, but assessment in a few subjects is not precise enough, so some pupils develop gaps and struggle to recall essential knowledge. Attendance has improved, but some pupils still miss too much school, and leaders recognise more work is needed with families. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection; it converted from Berkeley Primary School and is part of Advantage Multi Academy Trust, and no overall effectiveness grade is awarded under the current framework.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive school where pupils with SEND are well understood and supported
• Pupils are happy, polite and respectful, and behave sensibly around school
• Parents speak positively about the school’s nurturing and caring environment
• Strong sense of community and pupil pride in taking on responsibilities
• High expectations lead to calm, purposeful lessons and respectful relationships
• Pupils feel safe and know how to raise concerns with a responsible adult
• Broad and balanced curriculum meets the scope and ambition of the national curriculum
• Clear curriculum sequencing in most subjects, including early years
• Reading is a key priority, with consistent phonics teaching and strong Year 1 outcomes
• Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers and achieve well
• Personal development is promoted exceptionally well through PSHE and respect for different faiths and cultures
• Enriching visits and clubs support the curriculum and pupils’ wider development
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value professional development and workload support
• Trustees understand their role in supporting and challenging leaders

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, assessment is not used precisely, so gaps in pupils’ learning can develop
• Some pupils’ gaps are not addressed, leading to difficulties recalling essential knowledge
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough and miss valuable learning time
• Leaders need to do more to support parents and carers in ensuring children attend every day

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 Berkeley Academy attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Berkeley 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 Berkeley Academy had 24.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.0% 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, 23.4% of pupils at Berkeley Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Berkeley Academy received £6,122 and spent £6,766 for each of its 466 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £391,000 (£839 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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• Secondary Schools

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What is Berkeley Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Berkeley Academy is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Berkeley Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Berkeley Academy was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Berkeley Academy have?

Berkeley Academy has 466 pupils on roll.

What age range does Berkeley Academy cover?

Berkeley Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Berkeley Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Berkeley Academy?

Berkeley Academy is at Cranford Lane, Heston, Hounslow, TW5 9HQ.