Schools similar to Heron Cross Primary School

Stoke-on-Trent · ages 3 to 11 · URN 124003

Peer-school shortlist

Change sheet

Heron Cross Primary School · comparison saved 26 October 2026

HeadteacherChat intake matches, separate from DfE’s official groups. Similarity does not establish school quality or explain results. Figures have their own years and periods. Small cohorts are flagged where published counts are available.

Showing the closest 10 of 5,734 eligible schools.

KS2 is reading, writing and maths combined. Published cohort counts appear with results where available.

0 of 3 peers selected.

No peers selected. Add schools from the matches to include them on this sheet.

Selected school and shortlisted peers. Dates link to each figure’s source.
Measure	Heron Cross Primary School
Pupils2025/26 · Academic year	396SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
Free school meals2025/26 · Academic year	43.2%SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
First language other than English2025/26 · Academic year	17.2%SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)2025/26 · Academic year	21.72%SourceDfE: Special educational needs in England · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england+ sourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
KS2 expected standard2024/25 · Academic year · Final	59%SourceDfE: Key stage 2 performance tables · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment
KS2 higher standard2024/25 · Academic year · Final	5%SourceDfE: Key stage 2 performance tables · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment
Overall absence2025/26 · Autumn and spring term	4.46%SourceDfE: Pupil absence in schools in England · 2025/26 · Autumn and spring term · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england
Persistent absence2025/26 · Autumn and spring term	13.79%SourceDfE: Pupil absence in schools in England · 2025/26 · Autumn and spring term · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england
KS2 cohort	KS2 cohort: 58 eligible pupils. 2024/25
Latest inspection	Report card inspection20 January 2026Ofsted · https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/25/124003
Report card inspection
Safeguarding standards	Met
Inclusion	Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching	Expected standard
Achievement	Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour	Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing	Strong standard
Early years	Expected standard
Leadership and governance	Expected standard

Questions and notes

What would be useful to discuss with each school about its context and practice?

Heron Cross Primary School

School website · Official school record

What would be useful to compare about provision given these pupil-intake similarities?
Which differences in context should we understand before adapting another school’s approach?

Saved comparison: https://headteacherchat.com/tools/similar-schools?urn=124003&edition=htc-full-primary-v1%3A2026-10-26&sheet=peers. Links can expire after 13 editions; keep this printed record.

All figures and Ofsted for Heron Cross Primary School

Heron Cross Primary School

Stoke-on-Trent · ages 3 to 11 · URN124003

KS2 cohort: 58 eligible pupils. DfE KS2 · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · source 2026-05-21

Heron Cross Primary School: published figures and their sources
Measure	Heron Cross Primary School
Pupils	3962025/26
Free school meals	43.2%2025/26
First language other than English	17.2%2025/26
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)	21.72%2025/26 + source
KS2 expected standard	59%2024/25 · Academic year · Final
KS2 higher standard	5%2024/25 · Academic year · Final
Overall absence	4.46%2025/26 · Autumn and spring term
Persistent absence	13.79%2025/26 · Autumn and spring term

Report card inspection · inspected 20 January 2026 · published 4 March 2026 · monthly file dated 30 September 2026
Safeguarding standards
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Strong standard
Early years
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Graded inspection (previous framework) · inspected 30 November 2021 · published 25 January 2022 · monthly file dated 30 September 2026
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding is effective
Yes
Early years
Good

School website Official school record

How schools are matched

We compare open primary schools in England that teach through to age 11. We match current eligibility for free school meals first, then first language other than English, SEND and pupil numbers. The same age range is preferred. Region, faith and school type have a smaller influence.

A similar intake does not explain a difference in results. Use this list to choose schools to investigate, then check their reports and local circumstances.

View the matching calculation and data sources

SEND is calculated from pupils with SEN support or an EHC plan, divided by the school roll. We only calculate it when the source counts, year and coverage agree. It is rounded to two decimal places here.

Matching weights
Measure	Weight
Free school meals	45%
First language other than English	25%
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)	20%
Pupils	10%

Lower matching scores mean more similar pupil context. Context bonuses can take a score below zero; a score is not a rating or a percentage.

Open England GIAS Primary; statutory low age at most 5 (including nursery ages 2/3) and high age 11. All four inputs required in the same academic year. Prefer exact low/high ages when at least 10 candidates remain after the report-card filter; otherwise disclose relaxation. Outcomes never select or rank peers. Context bonuses require nonmissing exact region, religious character and establishment type code; missing context earns no bonus. Lower distance is closer, including negative totals after bonuses.

5734 schools were eligible; 10 are shown.

fsm: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100
eal: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100; First language other than English
send: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100
size: Absolute pupil-count difference / max(target pupils, candidate pupils)

SEND formula: 100 * (SEN_support + EHC_plan) / characteristics.pupils; same school, Academic year and year; SEN total_pupils must equal characteristics.pupils. Ties are resolved by URN ascending.

Schools can be excluded for more than one reason:

Not a primary school: 21888
Does not cover the full primary age range: 28649
Not open: 25401
The selected school: 1
England location unverified: 3043
FSM percentage missing: 192
First-language percentage missing: 192
Pupil number missing: 192
SEND: published SEN support, EHC plan or pupil total missing: 192
Different age range: 8362

Get Information About Schools (Department for Education): year not stated; published 2026-10-26; status when saved: healthy.
Ofsted monthly management information: state-funded schools, latest inspections: year not stated; published 2026-09-30; status when saved: healthy.
DfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: 2025/26; published 2026-06-04; status when saved: healthy.
DfE: Special educational needs in England: 2025/26; published 2026-06-30; status when saved: healthy.
DfE: Pupil absence in schools in England: 2025/26; published 2026-10-15; status when saved: healthy.
DfE: Key stage 2 performance tables: 2024/25; published 2026-05-21; status when saved: healthy.

Missing means no usable figure was provided. Suppressed means the publisher withheld it. Unavailable means no usable value can be shown; check the source and published code. Not applicable and low reliability retain the publisher’s stated limits.

Comparison reference: htc-full-primary-v1:2026-10-26.

Peer-school shortlist

Questions and notes

Heron Cross Primary School

Selected school evidence

How schools are matched

Related guides