Wardley Primary School

Wardley Primary School is a happy, highly inclusive school where pupils feel safe and are warmly welcomed, including pupils with SEND and the significant number who join throughout the year. Inclusion and leadership stand out as particular strengths, and safeguarding standards are met. The school serves a community with well-above-average free school meal eligibility and above-average SEN support, and pupils often start from low baselines but typically achieve well by the end of Year 6.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture that warmly welcomes all pupils, including those with SEND and pupils joining mid-year
• Well-trained staff identify and reduce barriers to learning quickly and accurately
• Pupil premium funding is carefully targeted, with high achievement and attendance for disadvantaged pupils
• Strong, well-informed governance that supports and challenges leaders effectively
• Highly effective parental engagement and a positive school community
• High-quality professional development and strong attention to staff workload and wellbeing
• Mathematics outcomes have improved significantly, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 2
• Attendance is typically positive and high for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Punctuality has improved significantly
• Behaviour is typically positive, bullying is exceptionally rare, and pupils feel safe
• High-quality curriculums are taught with fidelity and accuracy across subjects
• Early years provides a strong start, especially in communication, language and phonics
• Pastoral support and personal development are strong, with pupils well prepared for life in modern Britain
• A wide range of visits and extra-curricular activities nurtures pupils' talents and interests
• Safeguarding standards are met

Areas for Improvement

• Writing is the main area for improvement, with variable outcomes across year groups
• Some pupils have gaps in foundational writing knowledge that limit the quality of their work
• Recent work to improve writing is not yet fully embedded across the school
• Writing skills in early years lag slightly behind other areas
• Some pupils' behaviour can occasionally disrupt learning for others
• The personal development offer could be extended so more pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, participate in high-quality enrichment

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Wardley Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Wardley Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Wardley Primary School had 22.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.9% of pupils at Wardley Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Wardley Primary School received £7,411 and spent £6,992 for each of its 284 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £323,000 (£1,138 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Gateshead · Gateshead local authority: places and applications

What is Wardley Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wardley Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Wardley Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wardley Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Wardley Primary School have?

Wardley Primary School has 292 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wardley Primary School cover?

Wardley Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Wardley Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wardley Primary School?

Wardley Primary School is at Keir Hardie Avenue, Wardley, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE10 8TX.