Handale Primary School
West Park Avenue, Loftus, Saltburn-By-The-Sea, TS13 4RL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rio Farrier
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lingfield Education Trust
- Constituency
- Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 343
- Pupils on roll
- 183
- URN
- 149008
- Local authority
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01287640416
About this school
Handale Primary School is a primary academy in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 183 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.
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Handale Primary School (URN 131645).
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 35 | 29 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 76% | 82% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 14% | 18% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 83% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 79% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 79% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.90 | - | - |
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 Handale 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 | Redcar and Cleveland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 82% | 61.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 204 |
| 2023/24 | 204 |
| 2024/25 | 191 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Handale Primary School compares
Handale Primary School ranked 5th of 43 primary schools in Redcar and Cleveland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 82% | 4.7% | 48.6% | 183 | — |
| Hummersea Primary School | 50% | 6.7% | 49% | 261 | 0.3 miles |
| Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy | 82% | 5% | 18.6% | 182 | 0.4 miles |
| Whitecliffe Academy | 73% | 5.1% | 58.2% | 91 | 0.7 miles |
| Badger Hill Academy | 85% | 3.2% | 21.1% | 138 | 1.8 miles |
| St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 62% | 5.1% | 46.6% | 307 | 2.5 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 report29 January 2025
- 11 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 48.63%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.72%
- Persistent absence
- 11.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hummersea Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Saltburn-by-the-Sea
-
Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Saltburn-by-the-Sea
-
Whitecliffe Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Saltburn-By-The-Sea
-
Badger Hill Academy1.8 miles
Primary · Saltburn-by-the-Sea
-
St Peter's Church of England Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Other schools in Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Handale Primary School ranks 2nd of the 11 ranked primary schools in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
- Badger Hill Academy Primary
- Hummersea Primary School Primary
- Lingdale Primary School Primary
- Lockwood Primary School Primary
- Oakridge Community Primary School Primary
- Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- Saltburn Primary School Primary
- Skelton Primary School Primary
- St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Staithes, Seton Community Primary School Primary
- Whitecliffe Academy Primary
- Freebrough Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Handale Primary School teach?
- Handale Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of Handale Primary School?
- The headteacher of Handale Primary School is Mrs Rio Farrier, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Handale Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Handale 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 Handale Primary School?
- Handale Primary School has 183 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Handale Primary School full?
- Handale Primary School has capacity for 343 pupils and 183 on roll (53%), 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 Handale Primary School a faith school?
- No. Handale Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Handale Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Handale Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Handale Primary School?
- Handale 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.
- How have Handale Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 82% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Handale Primary School rank locally?
- Handale Primary School ranked 5th of 43 primary schools in Redcar and Cleveland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Handale Primary School's absence rate?
- Handale Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Handale Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Handale 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 3 July 2026.