Valley Gardens Middle School

Valley Gardens Middle School is an exceptional school where staff have created a culture of high ambition and excellence. Inspectors found the curriculum bold, creative and academically strong, with pupils achieving highly across a wide range of subjects. Pupils are polite, resilient and confident, and they benefit from warm relationships with staff, excellent pastoral care and a remarkable range of enrichment opportunities. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is exceptionally strong, including through the school’s specially resourced provision, and disadvantaged pupils are well supported to achieve as highly as their peers. The school’s personal, social and health education is closely tailored to pupils’ needs, and pupils develop a strong moral purpose and sense of character. Reading is a clear priority, with pupils reading frequently for pleasure and receiving effective support when learning to read. Leaders are reflective, staff value highly effective professional development, and governors support and challenge the school well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first inspection under section 5 since June 2013, having previously been exempt from routine inspection because it was judged outstanding. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade, but the school was judged outstanding in each of the key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Strengths

• A carefully planned and highly effective curriculum prepares pupils well for the next stage of education.
• Pupils are resilient, reflective, confident and achieve highly across a wide range of subjects.
• Staff are knowledgeable and passionate and teach the curriculum with enthusiasm.
• Pupils are encouraged to express themselves and become confident, articulate learners.
• Regular opportunities help pupils revisit prior learning and understand what they have been taught.
• Provision for pupils with SEND is exceptionally strong, including the specially resourced provision.
• Pupils with SEND engage fully in the wider life of the school.
• Additional support is highly effective at engaging vulnerable pupils back into education.
• Pupils read frequently for pleasure and are supported to read confidently.
• The personal, social and health education curriculum is precisely tailored and responsive to local and national issues.
• Pupils develop a clear set of values, moral purpose and strong character.
• Pastoral care is excellent and staff know pupils well.
• A wide range of sports and enrichment opportunities benefits pupils’ well-being.
• Careers information and guidance inspire pupils for their futures.
• Leaders engage well with parents, carers, pupils and staff.
• Staff benefit from highly effective professional development and a focus on well-being.
• Governors support and challenge the school effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

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 Valley Gardens Middle School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 6.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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 Valley Gardens Middle School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Valley Gardens Middle School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 11.2% of pupils at Valley Gardens Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 5 pupils.

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Valley Gardens Middle School received £6,537 and spent £6,519 for each of its 768 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £515,000 (£671 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

Valley Gardens Middle School is part of The North Tyneside Learning Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Whitley Bay High School Whitley Bay
• Monkseaton Coastal School Whitley Bay
• Appletree Gardens First School Whitley Bay
• Woodlawn School Whitley Bay
• Marden Bridge Middle School Whitley Bay
• Monkseaton High School Whitley Bay
• Rockcliffe First School Whitley Bay
• Monkhouse Primary School North Shields
• Marden High School North Shields
• Southlands School North Shields

What is Valley Gardens Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Valley Gardens Middle School is Outstanding, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Valley Gardens Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Valley Gardens Middle School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Valley Gardens Middle School have?

Valley Gardens Middle School has 768 pupils on roll.

What age range does Valley Gardens Middle School cover?

Valley Gardens Middle School for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Valley Gardens Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Valley Gardens Middle School?

Valley Gardens Middle School is at Valley Gardens, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE25 9AQ.