Highfields Primary School

Highfields Primary School is a harmonious and welcoming school where pupils’ behaviour is a standout strength. Inspectors found pupils calm, respectful and well mannered, with an outstanding personal development offer that helps them understand British values and take on leadership roles. The quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils with SEND are well supported, reading is taught strongly, and attendance is a priority with effective family support. The school is part of Attenborough Learning Trust and this was its first routine inspection since the pandemic; it had not previously been inspected under section 5. Leaders have made a positive start on the curriculum, and children in the early years settle quickly and benefit from warm routines. However, the curriculum does not yet set out clearly enough how pupils should develop early writing, and some pupils are given writing tasks that are too hard, limiting their opportunity to practise and become fluent. The school has also begun work to identify key vocabulary, but this is ongoing; not all staff have the skills to develop pupils’ communication consistently, including for the many pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Strengths

• Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding, with calm and respectful conduct throughout the school.
• Pupils are well mannered and treat each other with respect.
• Personal development is outstanding and helps pupils become engaged, active citizens.
• Pupils understand how school values link to British values.
• Reading is taught well, with phonics used successfully from Nursery.
• Books match pupils’ phonics knowledge precisely.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and plans are implemented successfully.
• Early years children settle quickly and routines are well embedded.
• Leaders provide considered support to improve attendance.
• Trust and local governing body understand responsibilities and ask pertinent questions.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with effective workload management.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Enriching visits and trips support pupils’ knowledge.

Areas for Improvement

• Early writing curriculum lacks clarity about how pupils should develop foundational writing skills.
• Some pupils at early stages of writing receive tasks too complex for them.
• Pupils do not always get enough opportunities to practise writing until fluent.
• Key vocabulary work is ongoing but not embedded across all staff.
• Not all staff have skills and knowledge to develop pupils’ communication effectively.
• Staff-pupil interactions do not consistently help pupils secure language knowledge.
• Communication support for pupils, including those with EAL, is inconsistent.

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 Highfields Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.5% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Highfields 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 Highfields Primary School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.9% 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, 10.8% of pupils at Highfields Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Highfields Primary School received £6,920 and spent £6,596 for each of its 350 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £90,000 (£256 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Attenborough Learning Trust, income was £6,814 and spending £6,613 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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All schools in Leicester · Leicester local authority: places and applications

Highfields Primary School is part of Attenborough Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Uplands Infant School Leicester
• Sparkenhoe Community Primary School Leicester
• Charnwood Primary School Leicester
• Shenton Primary School Leicester
• Bridge Junior School Leicester
• Green Lane Infant School Leicester
• Inglehurst Infant School Leicester
• Buswells Lodge Primary School Leicester

What is Highfields Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Highfields Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Highfields Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Highfields Primary School have?

Highfields Primary School has 352 pupils on roll.

What age range does Highfields Primary School cover?

Highfields Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Highfields Primary School?

Highfields Primary School is at Pluto Close, Highfields, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE2 0UU.