Marine Park First School

Marine Park First School is a happy, inclusive first school that inspectors found to be fulfilling expected standards across all evaluated areas. Pupils achieve well from their starting points, especially in reading and phonics, and attendance is consistently above the national average. Behaviour is calm and orderly, pupils feel safe and cared for, and the school provides strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The curriculum is well sequenced and locally relevant, and leaders, staff and governors are well regarded and committed to the school community. The school's main strengths lie in its inclusive ethos, effective early reading and phonics provision, strong attendance, and positive relationships between staff, pupils and families. Children in early years get off to a positive start, and pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer, including enriching visits, sports, choir and leadership opportunities. Governance is knowledgeable and involved, and staff receive effective professional development. There are still areas to refine. Assessment checks are not consistently used across all subjects to shape teaching and secure pupils' recall of important knowledge, and writing support is less consistent for some pupils, including those with SEND, affecting handwriting and presentation. Early years outdoor planning does not always ensure clear progression from Nursery to Reception, and disadvantaged pupils' participation in wider experiences varies. Leaders also need to strengthen pupils' understanding of people, communities and values so that conduct is consistently considerate, and to address the very small number of pupils who report experiencing discrimination from peers.

Strengths

• Pupils typically achieve well from their starting points across the curriculum.
• Phonics outcomes are significantly above the national average over time.
• Many pupils become confident and fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.
• Mathematics achievement, including multiplication tables, has improved and is close to the national average.
• Attendance is consistently above the national average, with low persistent absence.
• Leaders support families well to overcome barriers to regular attendance.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school, and the school is calm.
• The curriculum is well sequenced and reflects the school's locality.
• Teachers have the subject knowledge needed to teach the curriculum generally well.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, and barriers to learning are typically removed.
• The school is inclusive, with pupils' needs quickly and accurately identified.
• Pupils with social and emotional barriers, including anxiety, are very well supported.
• Children in early years make a positive and successful start to their education.
• Phonics teaching in early years is highly effective in supporting early reading.
• Leaders build positive relationships with parents, carers and staff.
• Governors support and challenge leaders effectively and meet their statutory duties.
• The personal development offer is broad, including inspiring choir, STEM and careers activities.
• Pupils are happy, polite and demonstrate tolerance and respect.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, assessment checks are not as consistent as they could be.
• Misconceptions in writing for a small number of pupils go unaddressed over time, affecting handwriting and presentation.
• Some learning activities limit pupils' opportunities to deepen and extend their knowledge.
• Outdoor early years activities are not always carefully planned to ensure progression from Nursery to Reception.
• There are occasional missed opportunities to extend children's learning in early years.
• Teachers do not always ensure that children write all letters accurately.
• Support to help pupils develop their writing is less consistent, including for pupils with SEND.
• Participation in educational visits and wider activities varies among disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils' understanding of the personal development curriculum is not yet secure for all pupils.
• The new assessment system needs more systematic checks to ensure it reliably informs teaching.
• A very small number of pupils feel they have been impacted by discrimination from other pupils.
• Leaders should refine what pupils learn about people, communities and values to secure consistent, considerate conduct.

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 Marine Park First School attended 96.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.8% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Marine Park First 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 Marine Park First School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Marine Park First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Marine Park First School received £7,628 and spent £7,595 for each of its 452 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £219,000 (£486 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 Whitley Bay · North Tyneside local authority: places and applications

What is Marine Park First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Marine Park First School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Marine Park First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marine Park First School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Marine Park First School have?

Marine Park First School has 476 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marine Park First School cover?

Marine Park First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Marine Park First School?

Marine Park First School is at Park Road, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE26 1LT.