Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School

Breckland · PE37 7RF

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 241 pupils, 33.3% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 26.1% on SEN support Behaviour 5.0% absence rate Staff 19.9% turnover Financials £7,035 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School

General Information

Address: White Cross Road, Swaffham, PE37 7RF – View on map
Phone: 01760721357
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Rebecca Starman
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 36 families put it first for 29 places – 12 for every 10 places. 75% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 13 · 2025 13 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

241 pupils out of 240 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 73
% eligible for free school meals: 33.3%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Breckland average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19.9% a year (Breckland 20%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 67% moved to another school, 33% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Norfolk: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 26 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 12 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Norfolk (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 26.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 20 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 14 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 38% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points below the Breckland average (51%)
Expected standard by subject: Reading 62% · Writing 45% · Maths 41% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 55%
Average test scores: reading 102, maths 99
Based on: 29 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolBreckland averageEngland↗ Improving Up 34 percentage points since 2023/24. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points below the Breckland average (51%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 34th of 43 junior and primary schools in the area

=32Drake Primary School40%
=32East Harling Primary School and Nursery40%
=34Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School38%
=34Sporle Church of England Primary Academy38%
#36North Elmham Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery33%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy96%
#2Lyng Church of England Primary Academy81%
#3Rocklands Community Primary School79%
#4Yaxham Church of England Primary Academy76%
=5Garvestone Community Primary School70%
=5Redcastle Family School70%
#7Great Ellingham Primary School68%
#8Hockering Church of England Primary Academy67%
=9Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery65%
=9Old Buckenham Primary School65%
=11Kenninghall Primary School63%
=11Litcham School63%
#13Mundford Church of England Primary Academy60%
#14Dereham, Toftwood Community Junior School59%
=15Brisley Church of England Primary Academy58%
=15Garboldisham Church of England Primary Academy58%
=15Necton VA Primary School58%
=15Norwich Road Academy58%
=19Admirals Academy57%
=19Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary School57%
=19Thompson Primary School57%
#22Dereham Church of England Junior Academy54%
=23Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School53%
=23Banham Primary School53%
#25St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery52%
#26Queensway Junior Academy51%
#27Colkirk Church of England Primary Academy50%
#28Weeting Church of England Primary School47%
#29Mattishall Primary School45%
#30Narborough Church of England Primary Academy44%
#31Swaffham CofE Primary Academy41%
=32Drake Primary School40%
=32East Harling Primary School and Nursery40%
=34Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School38%
=34Sporle Church of England Primary Academy38%
#36North Elmham Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery33%
#37Watton Junior School31%
#38St Mary's Community Primary School, Beetley28%
#39The Bishop's Church of England Primary Academy27%
#40Parker's Church of England Primary Academy25%
#41Swanton Morley VC Primary School21%
#42Bawdeswell Community Primary School18%
#43Swaffham Meadow Primary School0%

View full Ofsted inspection report

12th of 33 primary schools in Breckland for Ofsted rating

#10Gooderstone Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#11Great Ellingham Primary SchoolGood
#12Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery SchoolGood
#13Mattishall Primary SchoolGood
#14Mundford Church of England Primary AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
#2Bawdeswell Community Primary SchoolGood
#3Beeston Primary SchoolGood
#4Brisley Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#5Caston Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#6Colkirk Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#7East Harling Primary School and NurseryGood
#8Garboldisham Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#9Garvestone Community Primary SchoolGood
#10Gooderstone Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#11Great Ellingham Primary SchoolGood
#12Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery SchoolGood
#13Mattishall Primary SchoolGood
#14Mundford Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#15Narborough Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#16Old Buckenham Primary SchoolGood
#17Parker's Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#18Redcastle Family SchoolGood
#19Rocklands Community Primary SchoolGood
#20Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
#21Sporle Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#22St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & NurseryGood
#23Swaffham CofE Primary AcademyGood
#24Swanton Morley VC Primary SchoolGood
#25Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery AcademyGood
#26Thompson Primary SchoolGood
#27Weeting Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#28Yaxham Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#29North Elmham Church of England Primary Academy & NurseryRequires improvement
#30Rosecroft Primary SchoolRequires improvement
#31St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, LophamRequires improvement
#32St Mary's Community Primary School, BeetleyRequires improvement
#33Swaffham Meadow Primary SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,035 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

19th of 34 primary schools in Breckland for spending per pupil

#17St Mary's Community Primary School, Beetley£7,065
#18Yaxham Church of England Primary Academy£7,040
#19Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School£7,035
#20Norwich Road Academy£6,968
#21Swanton Morley VC Primary School£6,858

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Hockering Church of England Primary Academy£93,387
#2Gooderstone Church of England Primary Academy£33,526
#3Colkirk Church of England Primary Academy£24,063
#4Narborough Church of England Primary Academy£21,476
#5Caston Church of England Primary Academy£17,603
#6Swaffham Meadow Primary School£10,337
#7Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy£9,651
#8Drake Primary School£9,391
#9Garvestone Community Primary School£8,847
#10Redcastle Family School£8,781
#11Beeston Primary School£8,200
#12Thompson Primary School£7,747
#13Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School£7,647
#14Bawdeswell Community Primary School£7,300
#15The Bishop's Church of England Primary Academy£7,290
#16Swaffham CofE Primary Academy£7,215
#17St Mary's Community Primary School, Beetley£7,065
#18Yaxham Church of England Primary Academy£7,040
#19Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery School£7,035
#20Norwich Road Academy£6,968
#21Swanton Morley VC Primary School£6,858
#22Banham Primary School£6,776
#23Mattishall Primary School£6,744
#24East Harling Primary School and Nursery£6,663
#25Necton VA Primary School£6,429
#26St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery£6,421
#27Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery£6,364
#28Kenninghall Primary School£6,362
#29Great Ellingham Primary School£6,339
#30Weeting Church of England Primary School£6,326
#31Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,221
#32Old Buckenham Primary School£6,189
#33Attleborough Primary School£2,562
#34Rosecroft Primary School£2,536

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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