Langley First School

Langley First School is a welcoming primary where pupils feel safe, happy and part of a strong community. Inspectors found effective provision in the early years, inclusion and personal development, with well-designed early years learning, strong phonics teaching, good support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and a wide range of clubs, visits and pastoral care. Safeguarding standards are met. A new headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection, and leaders have begun making improvements. However, the school is not yet consistently strong. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance all require attention. Teaching quality varies, so pupils make uneven progress; assessment is not used well enough to identify gaps and misconceptions, including for pupils with SEND. Attendance is above the national average overall, but leaders' analysis is not precise enough to tackle absence for disadvantaged pupils. Behaviour expectations are clear, but staff apply them inconsistently. Recent improvements to writing and mathematics are too new to show impact, and older pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage as they should be. Leaders and governors understand the school community and manage staff workload well, but strategic oversight needs strengthening. The school should focus on embedding recent curriculum changes, improving assessment practice, analysing attendance more closely, and ensuring consistent behaviour management so that all pupils build knowledge securely and achieve well.

Strengths

• Warm and inclusive school community where pupils feel safe and happy.
• Carefully designed early years provision with purposeful activities matched to children's needs.
• Strong inclusive ethos with effective early identification and support for pupils with SEND.
• Effective phonics teaching and timely reading support.
• Broad personal development programme that builds character, resilience and British values.
• Wide range of clubs, visits and leadership opportunities, including 'mindful minis'.
• Calm and orderly environment with respectful relationships and rare bullying.
• Good support for staff workload and relevant professional development.
• Governors fulfil statutory duties and show commitment to the school community.
• Most pupils attend school often and overall attendance is above national average.
• Pupils with SEND typically get the support they need to access the curriculum.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching quality is variable across subjects, leading to uneven pupil progress.
• Assessment is not used consistently to check understanding or address misconceptions.
• Pupils with SEND experience the same inconsistencies in teaching as their peers.
• Some pupils have gaps in mathematical knowledge and underachieve in the multiplication check.
• Leaders' analysis of attendance patterns is not precise enough to support disadvantaged pupils.
• Behaviour management approaches are not always consistent with leaders' high expectations.
• Recent improvements to writing and mathematics are too new to show impact on outcomes.
• Older pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of education as they need to be.
• Leaders' checks on the impact of their work are not thorough enough to drive rapid improvement.
• Strategic oversight of the school's priorities needs strengthening.

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 Langley First School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.2% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Langley 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 Langley First School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.2% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Langley First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 Langley First School received £6,650 and spent £7,131 for each of its 274 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £79,000 (-£291 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 Langley First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Langley First School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Langley First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Langley First School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Langley First School have?

Langley First School has 295 pupils on roll.

What age range does Langley First School cover?

Langley First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Langley First School?

Langley First School is at Drumoyne Gardens, West Monkseaton, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE25 9DL.