Heron Hill Primary School
General Information
- Address: Hayfell Avenue, Kendal, LA9 7JH – View on map
- Phone: 01539721276
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Lucy Middleton
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 56 families put it first for 56 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 30
- % eligible for free school meals: 7.2%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (more mixed than the Westmorland and Furness average)
- English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 11.6% a year (Westmorland and Furness 12.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% 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
Across Westmorland and Furness: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 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 Westmorland and Furness, 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: 3.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 12.9%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 25 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 18 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Vision impairment: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 69% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 6% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 11 percentage points above the Westmorland and Furness average (58%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 62% against an expected 67%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 62%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 93% · Writing 72% · Maths 85% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 89%
- Average test scores: reading 109, maths 107
- Based on: 54 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 30th of 98 junior and primary schools in the area
- =27St Mary's CofE Primary School70%
- =30Church Walk CofE Primary School69%
- =30Heron Hill Primary School69%
- =32Allithwaite CofE Primary School67%
- =32Bolton Primary School67%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
36th of 82 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Ofsted rating
- #34Grayrigg CofE SchoolGood
- #35Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary SchoolGood
- #36Heron Hill Primary SchoolGood
- #37Holme Primary SchoolGood
- #38Holy Family Catholic Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,147 (2024-25)
90th of 101 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for spending per pupil
- #88Dane Ghyll Community Primary School and Nursery£6,298
- #89Ghyllside Primary School£6,274
- #90Heron Hill Primary School£6,147
- #91Grange CofE Primary School£6,102
- #92St Thomas's CofE Primary School£6,044
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)