The Palmer Primary Academy

Reading · RG2 7PP

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 436 pupils, 31.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 16.1% on SEN support Behaviour 6.9% absence rate Staff 36.4% turnover Financials £6,180 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Palmer Primary Academy

General Information

Address: 70 Northumberland Avenue, Reading, RG2 7PP – View on map
Phone: 01189375481
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Anne Higginbotham
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 58 families put it first for 58 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 10 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

436 pupils out of 420 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 129
% eligible for free school meals: 31.7%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (more mixed than the Reading average)
English as an additional language: 48% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 36.4% a year (Reading 19%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 54% moved to another school, 46% 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 Reading: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (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 Reading, 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: 6.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 20.6%
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: 16.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 24 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 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 2022 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: 66% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 9% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 4 percentage points above the Reading average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 58% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 58%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 86% · Writing 70% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 77%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 107
Based on: 44 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 schoolReading averageEngland↗ Improving Up 13 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4 percentage points above the Reading average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 18th of 38 junior and primary schools in the area

#17Coley Primary School67%
=18St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School66%
=18The Palmer Primary Academy66%
=18Wilson Primary School66%
#21English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School65%

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

#1All Saints Junior School100%
#2Oxford Road Community School86%
#3Civitas Academy84%
#4Alfred Sutton Primary School83%
#5The Heights Primary School79%
#6Moorlands Primary School77%
#7Caversham Primary School76%
#8St Martin's Catholic Primary School74%
=9Caversham Park Primary School72%
=9E P Collier Primary School72%
=11Earley St Peter's Church of England Primary School69%
=11Emmer Green Primary School69%
=13Battle Primary Academy68%
=13Churchend Primary Academy68%
=13Manor Primary School68%
=13Park Lane Primary School68%
#17Coley Primary School67%
=18St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School66%
=18The Palmer Primary Academy66%
=18Wilson Primary School66%
#21English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School65%
=22Katesgrove Primary School64%
=22The Hill Primary School64%
#24St Anne's Catholic Primary School63%
#25New Town Primary School61%
#26St John's Church of England Primary School58%
#27Christ The King Catholic Primary School57%
#28Geoffrey Field Junior School56%
=29New Christ Church Church of England Primary School54%
=29The Ridgeway Primary School54%
#31Whitley Park Primary and Nursery School53%
=32Ranikhet Academy50%
=32Redlands Primary School50%
#34Thameside Primary School49%
#35Meadow Park Academy47%
#36Micklands Primary School43%
#37St Michael's Primary School38%
#38Southcote Primary School31%

View full Ofsted inspection report

24th of 24 primary schools in Reading for Ofsted rating

#22Thameside Primary SchoolGood
#23The Hill Primary SchoolGood
#24The Palmer 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

#1The Heights Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Alfred Sutton Primary SchoolGood
#3Caversham Park Primary SchoolGood
#4Caversham Primary SchoolGood
#5Churchend Primary AcademyGood
#6Civitas AcademyGood
#7Coley Primary SchoolGood
#8E P Collier Primary SchoolGood
#9English Martyrs' Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#10Green Park Village Primary AcademyGood
#11Katesgrove Primary SchoolGood
#12Manor Primary SchoolGood
#13Meadow Park AcademyGood
#14Moorlands Primary SchoolGood
#15New Christ Church Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#16Oxford Road Community SchoolGood
#17Park Lane Primary SchoolGood
#18Southcote Primary SchoolGood
#19St Anne's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#20St John's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#21St Michael's Primary SchoolGood
#22Thameside Primary SchoolGood
#23The Hill Primary SchoolGood
#24The Palmer Primary AcademyGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,180 (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.

31st of 37 primary schools in Reading for spending per pupil

#29Earley St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,267
#30Caversham Primary School£6,223
#31The Palmer Primary Academy£6,180
#32The Hill Primary School£6,161
#33The Heights Primary School£6,123

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

#1Thameside Primary School£9,821
#2Caversham Park Primary School£9,793
#3Christ The King Catholic Primary School£9,723
#4St Anne's Catholic Primary School£8,625
#5Whitley Park Primary and Nursery School£8,392
#6Oxford Road Community School£8,166
#7Moorlands Primary School£8,082
#8Redlands Primary School£7,912
#9New Christ Church Church of England Primary School£7,732
#10Micklands Primary School£7,681
#11Manor Primary School£7,586
#12Ranikhet Academy£7,330
#13St Michael's Primary School£7,276
#14Coley Primary School£7,207
#15The Ridgeway Primary School£7,136
#16Southcote Primary School£7,126
#17E P Collier Primary School£6,909
#18Wilson Primary School£6,880
#19St Martin's Catholic Primary School£6,879
#20New Town Primary School£6,774
#21Churchend Primary Academy£6,650
#22Meadow Park Academy£6,629
#23English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School£6,609
#24Green Park Village Primary Academy£6,570
#25Katesgrove Primary School£6,557
#26Park Lane Primary School£6,480
#27Emmer Green Primary School£6,360
#28St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School£6,346
#29Earley St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,267
#30Caversham Primary School£6,223
#31The Palmer Primary Academy£6,180
#32The Hill Primary School£6,161
#33The Heights Primary School£6,123
#34Alfred Sutton Primary School£5,969
#35Battle Primary Academy£5,660
#36St John's Church of England Primary School£5,595
#37Civitas Academy£5,573

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

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