Bracken Leas Primary School

Bracken Leas Primary School, which has not been previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005, has demonstrated overall good performance across all domains of education, behavior, personal development, leadership, and early years provision. The school has made significant improvements since its inception in 2017 as part of The Hawksmoor Learning Trust. Pupils are engaged and eager to learn, expressing trust in their teachers and feeling safe in the environment. They enjoy a rich curriculum that connects lessons to real-life scenarios and actively participate in various extracurricular activities.

Strengths

• Pupils are engaged and eager to learn.
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Effective leadership and management from senior leaders and the trust.
• Good teaching of reading and mathematics.
• Well-developed early years provision that supports children's curiosity.

Areas for Improvement

• New reading teaching approach needs further development for deeper comprehension.
• Curriculum coherence and planning not yet consistently embedded in all subjects.
• Some subject leaders are new and need ongoing support in their roles.

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 Bracken Leas Primary School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Bracken Leas 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 Bracken Leas Primary School had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.0% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Bracken Leas Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Bracken Leas Primary School received £5,663 and spent £5,569 for each of its 422 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £33,000 (£79 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of The Hawksmoor Learning Trust, income was £5,738 and spending £5,470 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 Brackley · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Bracken Leas Primary School is part of The Hawksmoor Learning Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• The Radstone Primary School Brackley
• Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School Towcester
• Marie Weller Primary School Towcester

What is Bracken Leas Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bracken Leas Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Bracken Leas Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bracken Leas Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Bracken Leas Primary School have?

Bracken Leas Primary School has 420 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bracken Leas Primary School cover?

Bracken Leas Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

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

Where is Bracken Leas Primary School?

Bracken Leas Primary School is at Magdalen Meadows, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 6LF.