Richardson Dees Primary School

Richardson Dees Primary School is a smaller-than-average primary in Wallsend serving a community with high levels of deprivation: over half of pupils are eligible for free school meals and around a quarter receive SEN support, both well above national figures. Following a full inspection in September 2026, the school was judged to be reaching the strong standard for inclusion and the expected standard in achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders have created a genuinely welcoming, nurturing culture in which pupils feel safe, behave well and are proud of their school, and provision for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils is a particular strength.

Strengths

• Highly welcoming, inclusive culture where staff know and value pupils as individuals
• Effective early help and transition work means children, including those with additional needs, settle quickly into Nursery and Reception
• Provision for pupils with SEND is effective, with needs identified quickly and timely support from external specialists
• Additional funding is used well to support disadvantaged pupils' achievement and access to wider experiences
• Sensory spaces help pupils with social and emotional needs to regulate and re-engage with learning
• Leaders' supportive, family-centred approach has rapidly improved attendance and significantly reduced persistent absence
• Behaviour is calm and safe, with no suspensions or exclusions in recent years and pupils who are respectful and courteous
• A revised phonics approach has secured better attainment and effective support for pupils who need extra help with reading
• Teachers demonstrate secure subject knowledge and typically teach the curriculum as leaders intend
• Children in the early years make a positive start, with strong emphasis on language and communication
• Governors work collaboratively with staff, receive the information they need and understand the school's strengths and priorities
• Leaders support staff wellbeing effectively, resulting in a loyal and enthusiastic staff team
• The personal development programme, including the 'Fiver Challenge' and careers and enrichment activities, builds pupils' character well
• Strong partnership with parents, who value the school's nurturing ethos and inclusive approach

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in reading and in the grammar, punctuation and spelling tests has been below the national average over time
• Reading and writing are the weaker areas for disadvantaged pupils, and the disadvantage gap remains in these subjects
• Recent curriculum and teaching improvements are not yet fully embedded and consistently implemented
• Pupils' understanding of world faiths and different cultures is not as well developed as other aspects of personal development
• Recent improvements in attendance, and persistent absence figures that remain above national averages, need to be sustained

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 Richardson Dees Primary School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.2% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Richardson Dees 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 Richardson Dees Primary School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% 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, 26.7% of pupils at Richardson Dees Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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 Richardson Dees Primary School received £9,269 and spent £9,158 for each of its 194 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £135,000 (£698 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 Wallsend · North Tyneside local authority: places and applications

Richardson Dees Primary School is part of The North Tyneside Learning Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Burnside College Wallsend
• Western Community Primary School Wallsend
• Beacon Hill School North Tyneside
• Wallsend Jubilee Primary School Wallsend
• Redesdale Primary School Wallsend
• Norham High School North Shields
• Forest Hall Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Ivy Road Primary School Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Balliol Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Benton Dene Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What is Richardson Dees Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Richardson Dees Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Richardson Dees Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Richardson Dees Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Richardson Dees Primary School have?

Richardson Dees Primary School has 206 pupils on roll.

What age range does Richardson Dees Primary School cover?

Richardson Dees Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Richardson Dees Primary School?

Richardson Dees Primary School is at High Street East, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28 7RT.