Heycroft Primary School

Heycroft Primary School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils are proud to attend, behave well and benefit from a broad, well-sequenced curriculum. Inspectors found strong early years provision and effective leadership and governance, including positive collaboration with the South East Essex Academy Trust, which the school joined in January 2024. Safeguarding standards are met, and staff feel well supported. Most areas of the school are performing solidly. Pupils achieve well from their starting points, attendance is good, inclusion and pastoral care are strong, and personal development is varied and thoughtfully planned. The curriculum is generally well organised, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are supported effectively. The main improvement point is assessment in foundation subjects, which is not precise enough and can allow misconceptions to persist. Published 2024/25 outcomes were below national averages in combined reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes were notably low, although leaders say past underachievement is not reflected in the quality of current work.

Strengths

• Strong early years provision with rapid progress from starting points
• Cohesive leadership and governance with effective trust collaboration
• Pupils are happy, proud, respectful and behave maturely
• Attendance is good, with proactive support for barriers
• Broad, well-sequenced curriculum with a consistent teaching approach
• Inclusive culture with effective support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Strong personal development and wellbeing programme, including outdoor learning and swimming
• High-quality pastoral care and positive relationships
• Staff feel valued and supported, with workload and wellbeing prioritised
• Good preparation for transitions and wider trust opportunities
• Safeguarding standards are met

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment in foundation subjects is not precise enough to identify pupils’ needs
• Teaching in foundation subjects is not always as precise as it could be
• Misconceptions may become embedded in longer-term knowledge if not addressed
• Published 2024/25 outcomes were below national averages in combined reading, writing and mathematics
• Writing and mathematics outcomes were below national averages in 2024/25
• Disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes were particularly low, with wide gaps

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 Heycroft Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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 Heycroft 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 Heycroft Primary School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.1% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Heycroft Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Heycroft Primary School received £6,498 and spent £6,217 for each of its 386 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £313,000 (£812 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of South East Essex Academy Trust, income was £7,331 and spending £7,262 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 Leigh-On-Sea · Southend-on-Sea local authority: places and applications

Heycroft Primary School is part of South East Essex Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Westcliff High School for Girls Westcliff-On-Sea
• Prince Avenue Academy and Nursery Westcliff-On-Sea
• Rochford Primary and Nursery School Rochford
• Holt Farm Junior School Rochford
• The Westborough School Westcliff-On-Sea
• Hadleigh Junior School Benfleet
• The Deanes Benfleet
• The Cornelius Vermuyden School Canvey Island

What is Heycroft Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Heycroft Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Heycroft Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Heycroft Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Heycroft Primary School have?

Heycroft Primary School has 349 pupils on roll.

What age range does Heycroft Primary School cover?

Heycroft Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Heycroft Primary School?

Heycroft Primary School is at Benvenue Avenue, Eastwood, Benvenue Avenue, LEIGH-on-SEA, Essex, SS9 5SJ.