Byker Primary School

Byker Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils are happy and safeguarding is effective. Inspectors found strong personal development and early years provision, with a well-planned wider curriculum, high-quality pastoral support and a clear culture of equality and respect. Children get off to a strong start in early years, especially in communication, language and phonics. This was the school’s first graded inspection since 2017, following an ungraded inspection in 2023, and no overall effectiveness grade was awarded under current arrangements.

Strengths

• Inclusive ethos where pupils of all backgrounds feel welcomed and valued
• Pupils are happy and safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Personal development is well planned through visits, visitors and community awareness
• Strong early years provision with skilled staff and a sharp focus on communication and language
• Pupils develop a keen sense of equality, tolerance and respect
• High-quality pastoral support helps pupils manage their emotions
• Effective action has made racist incidents very rare
• Governors are well informed and offer appropriate challenge
• Many staff feel the school takes workload and well-being into account
• Phonics knowledge builds well for pupils who attend regularly and arrive on time

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on learning in many subjects do not precisely identify gaps and misconceptions
• Recent curriculum changes are new and not yet having the intended impact
• Subject monitoring is inconsistent and does not reliably lead to timely improvement
• Attendance and punctuality are poor, with too many pupils persistently or severely absent or late
• Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not have their needs identified with sufficient precision
• Delays in external referrals prevent effective provision for some pupils
• Behaviour is variable and some staff do not feel well supported to manage challenging behaviour
• Some pupils do not meet national phonics expectations by the end of Year 1 due to insecure foundations and poor attendance
• Leadership turbulence and many new initiatives have been introduced in a short space of time

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 Byker Primary School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.7% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Byker 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 Byker Primary School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.5% 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, 28.6% of pupils at Byker Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Byker Primary School received £9,375 and spent £9,560 for each of its 378 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £288,000 (£761 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).

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What is Byker Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Byker Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Byker Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Byker Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Byker Primary School have?

Byker Primary School has 391 pupils on roll.

What age range does Byker Primary School cover?

Byker Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Byker Primary School?

Byker Primary School is at Commercial Road, Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE6 2AT.