School Chooser

Hilldene Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil643 pupilsNurseryRomfordHavering
School Chooser Score
11
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 7 to 19
Out of 100. Better than 6% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, December 2024
Reached the expected level at 1161%England 63%
Attendance94.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
Places77 spare643 pupils, 720 places
Pupils per teacher21.2School workforce census

Hilldene Primary School is a council school in Romford for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 643 pupils and room for 720. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 11 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 6% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Grange Road, Romford, RM3 7DU01708 342453hilldene.havering.sch.ukMrs Georgina Delmonte headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 3 December 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Early years
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

90 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1161%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level12%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 61%61%20172018: 59%59%20182019: 58%58%20192023: 54%54%20232024: 37%37%20242025: 61%61%2025
Since 2017: +0%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HaveringEngland
Pupils tested909090859089
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths61%37%54%58%59%61%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths12%4%1%5%8%4%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0102.0103.0100.0102.0102.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.099.0103.0103.0104.0103.0105.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0101.0102.0103.0104.0105.0106.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard76%57%67%60%62%67%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard68%49%69%76%77%74%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)69%63%74%72%77%84%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.8-2.0-1.3+0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.4+0.0+0.4+1.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged48%21%41%49%61%60%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged68%46%64%68%57%61%

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.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
48%68%
Gap 20 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
60%62%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
67%61%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
10%12%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full621 pupils for 630 places, 2024/25
99% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (64 offers for 90 places).

EntryPlacesApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary9012164all offeredLA
2025 Primary9015679all offeredLA
2024 Primary9016281all offeredLA
2023 Primary90186900.9 milesLA
2022 Primary9018489all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll643Census January 2026
Places72089% full
Pupils from low-income families23%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English40%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support8%54 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%32 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.622 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils5%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)23%£221,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls328 / 315
White British pupils40%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.6 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (46), language and communications needs (16), Autistic spectrum disorder (12), emotional and mental health (5), Specific learning difficulty (5), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll643663680684671686
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals23%23%24%25%27%27%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language40%39%37%33%30%27%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support9%13%15%14%16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%3%3%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.8%6.2%7.5%6.8%3.5%4.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.2%4.6%5.6%5.0%2.4%3.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.6%1.6%1.8%1.8%1.1%1.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.6%21.6%24.7%24.0%8.5%10.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.30.30.41.20.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers29.7full-time equivalent, 31 people
Pupils per teacher21.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants24.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£58,309
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.32024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,399England £7,738. Total £4.8m
Income per pupil£7,524England £7,697. Total £4.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,242England £3,480
Money in reserve5%Not much put by: £227k, £349 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£81kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,399spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m28612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate80 per 1,000 people12% lower than the England average
Typical house price£445,000Havering
Nearest bus stop80 mHilldene Primary School, 16 stops within 500 m

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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Ursula's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic340 m423Good 202378Compare
Broadford Primary SchoolCouncil1000 m654Good 202322Compare
Drapers' Brookside Junior SchoolAcademy0.8 miles234Good 202313Compare
Drapers' Brookside Infant SchoolAcademy0.9 miles198Good 202212Compare
Mead Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles801Good 202410Compare
Rise Park Junior SchoolAcademy1.3 miles350Good 202214Compare
Rise Park Infant SchoolAcademy1.3 miles278Good 202337Compare
Ardleigh Green Infant SchoolAcademy1.3 miles269Outstanding 202499Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Hilldene Primary School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats6%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 11 is 57 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 69 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Hilldene Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
The Mawney Foundation SchoolFoundation2.2 miles650No overall grade 202557Compare
Crowlands Primary SchoolCouncil2.7 miles669Good 202369Compare
Grafton Primary SchoolCouncil4.2 miles892Not inspected34Compare
Monteagle Primary SchoolCouncil6.1 miles630Report card 202688Compare
Bonnygate Primary SchoolAcademy7.1 miles439Good 202338Compare
Discovery Primary SchoolCouncil8.6 miles523Report card 202655Compare
West Thurrock AcademyAcademy9.2 miles440Good 202282Compare
Park Primary SchoolCouncil9.3 miles627Good 202367Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 11 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 11% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 7 to 19. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.10
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 90 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.36
Ofsted grade, 1.8 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.07
DfE progress measure; 90 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.07
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.05
2024/25; 564 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.13
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 90 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Hilldene Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Hilldene Primary School scores 11 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 6% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 7 to 19, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Hilldene Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Hilldene Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 3 December 2024.

How good are Hilldene Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 61% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 12% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Hilldene Primary School have?

643 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 720 places, so it is 89% full.

Is Hilldene Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Hilldene Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Hilldene Primary School?

The average class had 28.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 5% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Grange Road, Romford, RM3 7DU
Telephone
01708 342453
Website
hilldene.havering.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Georgina Delmonte
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Havering
Ward
Heaton
Constituency
Hornchurch and Upminster
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
102325 · LAESTAB 3112090 · UKPRN 10080036
Formerly
Hilldene Junior School, Hilldene Infants' School

Where these figures come from