Headley Park Primary School

Headley Park Primary School is an inclusive and welcoming school where pupils are proud to attend and achieve well. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since becoming an academy, and it is part of the Cathedral Schools Trust. The new headteacher, appointed in September 2024, has brought stability after a period of leadership change, and the trust is seen as supportive by staff. Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum, strong reading provision, well-sequenced mathematics, and exceptionally strong personal development, including equality and diversity education and wider opportunities such as clubs, pupil roles and the ‘Headley Park passport’. Behaviour is positive, pupils feel safe, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement concern consistency beyond the strongest subjects. In a few subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is less secure, leading to less clear teaching and less effective checks on learning, so some pupils have gaps in knowledge. Early years provision is not yet implemented as intended in every activity and adult interaction, meaning some children do not develop important knowledge and skills as quickly as they could. Overall, the school is performing well, with clear systems for SEND and attendance and effective governance, but it needs continued support from the trust to strengthen subject expertise and early years practice.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school with high expectations for all pupils
• Pupils achieve well and respond positively to the school’s high expectations
• Pupils are polite, well mannered and behave well in lessons and around school
• Pupils feel safe and build warm, respectful relationships with adults
• Personal development is exceptional, with a mature understanding of equality and diversity
• The Headley Park passport and wider opportunities build pupils’ character and confidence
• Reading is central, with strong early phonics and effective support for pupils who fall behind
• Mathematics is well designed and sequenced, with regular checks on pupils’ understanding
• Pupils with SEND are well supported through clear systems and adapted learning
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and enjoy a wide range of clubs and roles
• Governance and trust support are effective, and staff value the support they receive
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is less secure, so learning is less clear and checks are less effective
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge because teaching does not build consistently on prior learning
• Early years activities and adult interactions are not always sharply focused on what children need to learn
• Some children do not develop important knowledge and skills as quickly as they could in early years

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 Headley Park Primary School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.1% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Headley Park 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 Headley Park Primary School had 19.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 15.1% of pupils at Headley Park Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Headley Park Primary School received £6,953 and spent £6,805 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £145,000 (-£347 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Amplify Education, income was £8,102 and spending £8,050 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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Headley Park Primary School is part of Amplify Education, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Parson Street Primary School Bristol
• Bridge Learning Campus Bristol
• Victoria Park Primary School Bristol
• Ashton Gate Primary School Bristol
• Hotwells Primary School Bristol
• Bristol Cathedral Choir School Bristol
• Cathedral Primary School Bristol
• St Werburgh's Primary School Bristol
• Henleaze Junior School Bristol
• Henleaze Infant School Bristol

What is Headley Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Headley Park Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Headley Park Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Headley Park Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Headley Park Primary School have?

Headley Park Primary School has 411 pupils on roll.

What age range does Headley Park Primary School cover?

Headley Park Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Headley Park Primary School?

Headley Park Primary School is at Headley Lane, Headley Park, Bristol, BS13 7QB.