Fulwell Junior School

Fulwell Junior School is a larger-than-average junior school in Sunderland. The June 2026 inspection found it performing at a high level overall: personal development and wellbeing are exceptional, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are all strong. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils thrive in a warm, aspirational school where they feel safe, behave exceptionally well and attend regularly. The school's strengths are extensive. Leaders provide an ambitious, broad curriculum and highly effective teaching, with strong early reading, writing and mathematics. Inclusion is a particular strength: pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported and make positive progress. Pupils benefit from an exceptional personal development offer, including careers education, enrichment in performing arts, sport and music, and a strong focus on respect, relationships and safety. Attendance is above average, persistent absence is low, and behaviour is exemplary. The report identifies no significant weaknesses. The main next step is for leaders to continue refining and embedding their identified priorities for improvement so that their work has a transformational impact across all areas of school life. Governance is strong, staff feel well supported, and parents and the wider community are heavily involved.

Strengths

• Exceptional personal development and wellbeing provision that prepares pupils well for life beyond school
• Extensive enrichment in performing arts, sport and music with high participation among disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND
• Highly developed careers curriculum with meaningful employer links
• Pupils' strong understanding of respect, healthy relationships and staying safe online and offline
• Highly effective pastoral support that builds remarkable resilience and independence
• Pupils achieve well across the curriculum, including in reading, writing and mathematics
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils make positive progress from their starting points
• Attendance is above average and persistent absence is low
• Pupils behave calmly, courteously and with self-discipline, and bullying is rare
• The curriculum is highly ambitious, broad and well-sequenced
• Teaching is confident, with effective modelling, checking of understanding and vocabulary development
• Inclusion is highly effective, with timely support and adaptations for all pupils
• Leadership and governance are strong, with rigorous evaluation and effective staff support

Areas for Improvement

• Leaders should continue to refine and embed identified priorities for improvement to drive transformational impact across all areas.

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 Fulwell Junior School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.5% 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 Fulwell Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Fulwell Junior School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Fulwell Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 Fulwell Junior School received £6,112 and spent £6,227 for each of its 350 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £201,000 (£575 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 Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

What is Fulwell Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fulwell Junior School is Strong standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Fulwell Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fulwell Junior School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Fulwell Junior School have?

Fulwell Junior School has 350 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fulwell Junior School cover?

Fulwell Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Fulwell Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fulwell Junior School?

Fulwell Junior School is at Sea Road, Fulwell, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR6 9EE.