Battledown School
Battledown School is a special academy in Cheltenham for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 64 pupils and room for 65. About 56 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Harp Hill, Battledown, Cheltenham, GL52 6PZ01242 525472battledown.org.ukHeadteacher Darren Heatley headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 18 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
6 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | Gloucestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 6 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 62% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 10% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Gloucestershire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, visual impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Gloucestershire with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (61), emotional and mental health (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 64 | 70 | 67 | 65 | 66 | 57 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 56% | 44% | 43% | 39% | 36% | 30% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 11% | 10% | 12% | 12% | 9% | 12% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.6% | 7.9% | 10.5% | 10.8% | 6.6% | 30.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.1% | 7.0% | 9.9% | 10.6% | 5.6% | 29.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 24.6% | 29.0% | 31.2% | 46.2% | 17.1% | 63.6% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Battledown Centre for Children and Families, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Apostles' Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 460 m | 207 | Good 2020 | 91 | Compare |
| Berkhampstead School | Independent | 530 m | 253 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Lift Crescent View | Academy | 590 m | 60 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| Ashley Manor Preparatory School | Independent | 960 m | 275 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Oakwood Primary School | Foundation | 0.6 miles | 310 | Requires improvement 2024 | 1 | Compare |
| Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 169 | No overall grade 2025 | 51 | Compare |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 174 | Good 2023 | 32 | Compare |
| Prestbury St Mary's Church of England Junior School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 238 | Good 2023 | 40 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Battledown School a good school?
Battledown School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in June 2024.
What is Battledown School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Battledown School good at its last full inspection on 18 June 2024.
How good are Battledown School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does Battledown School have?
64 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 65 places, so it is 98% full.
What is attendance like at Battledown School?
Pupils were in school 92.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Battledown School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Battledown School have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Harp Hill, Battledown, Cheltenham, GL52 6PZ
- Telephone
- 01242 525472
- Website
- www.battledown.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Darren Heatley
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Sand Academies Trust (8 schools)
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Ward
- Battledown
- Constituency
- Cheltenham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2020 (academy converter)
- URN
- 147562 · LAESTAB 9167022 · UKPRN 10085835
- Formerly
- Battledown Centre for Children and Families
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.