SchoolFacts.uk

New Penshaw Academy

Primary · Houghton le Spring · DH4 7HY

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 28 June 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

112 pupils · 47% of 240 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
40.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
3.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
21.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.newpenshawacademy.co.uk
URN
139391

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 13 families named it first for 18 Reception places, 0.72 first choices per place. We hold 5 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2022 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 28 June 2024 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.72 first-choice applications per place

18 places offered · 13 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

24 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
58%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
102
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
100
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school58%
Median of its 12 closest peers58.5%
Sunderland average66.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
St Bega's Catholic Primary School, HartlepoolHartlepool · 17 miles awayGood71%
Eden Park AcademyBarnstaple · 283 miles awayExpected standard54%
Forest Hall Primary SchoolNewcastle-upon-Tyne · 10 miles awayNeeds attention62%
St Helen's Catholic Primary SchoolBarnsley · 95 miles awayGood0%
Deaf Hill Primary SchoolTrimdon Station · 11 miles awayGood69%
Kelloe Primary SchoolKelloe · 11 miles awayGood76%
Whitecliffe AcademySaltburn-By-The-Sea · 32 miles awayNo current grade73%
Eastlands Junior School (Welbeck Federation of Schools)Mansfield · 115 miles awayRequires improvement38%
Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyRochdale · 90 miles awayGood55%
Colburn Community Primary SchoolCatterick Garrison · 35 miles awayGood36%
Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary SchoolRuncorn · 118 miles awayStrong standard72%
Gillas Lane Primary AcademyHoughton le Spring · 3 miles awayGood15%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
3 of 10 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (Sunderland 82%, England 60%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Sunderland 1%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Sunderland 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Sunderland 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Sunderland 2%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Sunderland 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Sunderland 1%, England 1%) · Any other White background 1% (Sunderland 2%, England 7%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
7.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
23.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.72 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Sunderland: 1.64 suspensions and 0.06 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
13.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

72% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 11% moved to another state school · 17% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

63.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £55,801; 22.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,511
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 11% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 6% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £158,000; in-year balance +£100,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher14.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications27.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work12.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways33.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health38.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier33.2%62.3%
Social housing59.3%17.1%
Privately rented7.5%20.5%
Detached houses1.2%22.9%
Flats5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms4.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van34.4%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01008800 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£165,000229 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£110,000–£278,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (72)£300,000
Semi-detached (70)£156,500
Terraced (80)£110,000
Flat (7)£88,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
7an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools