Heathlands Primary Academy

About Heathlands Primary Academy

Heathlands Primary Academy’s headline metrics sit well below the local authority average for primary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 is 63%, Heathlands recorded just 41% in the 2023/24 academic year. That gap of 22 percentage points places the school 49th out of 50 primaries in the authority, putting it in the bottom 2% locally and the bottom 10% nationally. The picture is similarly stark at the higher standard: only 3% of pupils achieved that level across all three subjects, compared with a national benchmark that typically sits much higher. These figures are not surprising given the school’s context — over 70% of its 183 pupils are eligible for free school meals, a rate far above the national average. The school’s ranking score of 41 reflects this challenge, and it’s worth noting that the nearest outstanding-rated primary, Canford Heath Infant School, is 4.5 km away.

That said, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2022 rated it Good overall, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. Every graded category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — was judged Good. This suggests the school is heading in the right direction, even if exam results haven’t yet caught up. Looking at individual subjects, maths and writing each saw 55% of pupils reach the expected standard, while reading lagged at 48%. Average scaled scores for reading and maths both sat at exactly 100, which is the national baseline. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the Ofsted report’s positive judgement on quality of education implies that teaching and leadership are now on a firmer footing.

Heathlands is a small school — operating at about 81% of its 226-pupil capacity — and it was oversubscribed for Reception places in 2025/26, with 36 applications for 23 places and 21 first-preference offers made. That level of demand suggests local families see something working here. The school offers a nursery provision for children from age three, and its facilities include a forest school, sports hall, library, art studios and an ICT suite. Clubs such as choir, art, film and coding run alongside sports including dance, cricket, football, netball and athletics. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and multi-sensory impairment. This is a school that serves a high-needs community and, based on its Ofsted trajectory, appears to be stabilising and improving — a practical choice for families who value a supportive, inclusive environment over headline league table performance.

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