Headlands Primary School

About Headlands Primary School

Headlands Primary School in York holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained since its most recent graded inspection in 2013, with a subsequent ungraded visit in 2022 confirming the school remains Good. The most telling academic metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which sits at 66%. That is a solid four percentage points above the York local authority average of 62%, placing the school in the top half of primary schools in the area. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, pupils achieved average scaled scores of 106 in reading and 105 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. The school ranks 20th out of 47 primaries in York on this combined measure, and 5,748th nationally out of 13,686 schools, putting it in the top 42% of all primary schools in England.

Looking beyond the headline figure, the school’s performance is broadly consistent across the three core subjects. In reading, 80% of pupils met the expected standard and 30% reached the higher standard. Maths saw the same 80% at expected, with 32% hitting the higher threshold. Writing was slightly lower, with 80% at expected and 20% at the higher level. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard across all three subjects was 14%, which is a respectable figure for a non-selective state primary. The school’s previous Ofsted inspection in 2007 rated it Outstanding overall, with leadership and management marked as Good at that time. The current inspection report notes that leadership and management remain Good, and the school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections, suggesting consistent, stable leadership under headteacher Ruth Ellis.

Headlands is a mixed, non-faith primary for children aged 4 to 11, with 265 pupils on roll against a capacity of 315, so there is some room for growth. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, 19 first-preference applications were made for 19 places, but a total of 55 applications were received, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.89. The school offers a Forest School, a Sensory Room, an ICT Suite and a Chapel, plus clubs including Drama, Choir, Film Club, Chess and Coding. Sports provision covers Football, Gymnastics, Athletics, Rounders and Swimming. SEND support is available for pupils with Specific Learning Difficulty (Dyslexia), Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs, Speech, Language and Communication needs, Hearing Impairment and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. With 5.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school has a below-average level of disadvantage, which may suit families looking for a broadly middle-catchment primary with strong but not exceptional outcomes.

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