Heathfield Primary School
The Broadway, Darlington, DL1 1EJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Kirby-Bowstead
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lingfield Education Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 439
- URN
- 138179
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325252144
About this school
Heathfield Primary School is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 439 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 58 | 60 | 50 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 57% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 10% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 68% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 77% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 48% | 60% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Heathfield Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Darlington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 425 |
| 2023/24 | 422 |
| 2024/25 | 430 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heathfield Primary School compares
Heathfield Primary School ranked 14th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 5.7% | 30.7% | 439 | — |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School | 85% | 11.3% | 15.7% | 342 | 0.5 miles |
| Red Hall Primary School | 25% | 8.8% | 60.7% | 207 | 0.7 miles |
| St John's Church of England Academy | 70% | 4.6% | 44.1% | 249 | 0.7 miles |
| The Rydal Academy | 46% | 7.8% | 52.3% | 584 | 0.8 miles |
| Firthmoor Primary School | 62% | 5.7% | 54.4% | 279 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report19 February 2025
- 10 December 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.69%
- English as an additional language
- 11.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.7%
- Persistent absence
- 15.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Red Hall Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St John's Church of England Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
The Rydal Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Firthmoor Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Heathfield Primary School ranks 15th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Corporation Road Community Primary School Primary
- Croft Church of England Primary School Primary
- Firthmoor Primary School Primary
- Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool Primary
- Gurney Pease Academy Primary
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School Primary
- High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Hurworth Primary School Primary
- Ingleton CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Heathfield Primary School teach?
- Heathfield Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Heathfield Primary School?
- The headteacher of Heathfield Primary School is Mr Peter Kirby-Bowstead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Heathfield Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heathfield Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Heathfield Primary School?
- Heathfield Primary School has 439 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Heathfield Primary School full?
- Heathfield Primary School has capacity for 472 pupils and 439 on roll (93%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Heathfield Primary School a faith school?
- No. Heathfield Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Heathfield Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Heathfield Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Heathfield Primary School?
- Heathfield Primary School is part of LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Heathfield Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Heathfield Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Heathfield Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heathfield Primary School rank locally?
- Heathfield Primary School ranked 14th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heathfield Primary School's absence rate?
- Heathfield Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heathfield Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heathfield Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.