Marlborough Primary School

Marlborough Primary School is a nurturing and welcoming community school where pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from high-quality pastoral care. Inspectors found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management to be good, while personal development and early years provision were outstanding. The school was previously judged to require improvement, and this graded inspection did not result in an overall effectiveness grade. The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Pupils are polite, calm and well prepared for the next stage of their education, and they benefit from a wide range of clubs, responsibilities and experiences. Reading is a priority, pupils with SEND are well supported, and the early years provision is exceptionally strong. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, staff feel well supported, and governors hold leaders to account effectively. There are two main areas for improvement. In some foundation subjects, curriculum thinking is not precise enough, so teachers do not always have the detail they need and some pupils do not develop secure subject knowledge. Early reading support is also inconsistent across the school: phonics delivery is not always as intended, and some pupils read books that do not closely match their phonics stage, meaning some do not become confident, fluent readers quickly enough.

Strengths

• Strong sense of community and high-quality pastoral care
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and know adults care about them
• Pupils behave well, are polite and have good manners
• Older pupils are excellent role models for younger pupils
• An ambitious curriculum engages and inspires pupils
• Reading is a priority, with a well-resourced library and daily shared texts
• Early reading teaching is highly effective and consistent in the early years
• Staff have good subject knowledge and provide clear feedback
• Early years provision gives children a rapid start and exceptional support
• Pupils with SEND are carefully identified and effectively supported
• Attendance work with families helps reduce absence
• Pupils develop respect, celebrate diversity and have a strong sense of equality
• Personal development is placed at the heart of the school’s work
• Staff feel well supported and leaders consider well-being and workload
• Governors are supportive and effectively hold leaders to account
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum thinking in some foundation subjects is not precise enough
• Some teachers lack sufficient detail to implement the curriculum well
• Some pupils do not develop secure subject knowledge in weaker curriculum areas
• Early reading support is not consistent across the school
• Phonics delivery is sometimes not as the school intends
• Some pupils read books that do not closely match their phonics stage
• Some pupils do not become confident, fluent readers quickly enough

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 Marlborough Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.8% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Marlborough 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 Marlborough Primary School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.0% 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, 22.7% of pupils at Marlborough 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 Marlborough Primary School received £10,755 and spent £9,647 for each of its 138 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £417,000 (£3,036 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 Washington · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

What is Marlborough Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Marlborough Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Marlborough Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marlborough Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Marlborough Primary School have?

Marlborough Primary School has 150 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marlborough Primary School cover?

Marlborough Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 20% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Marlborough Primary School?

Marlborough Primary School is at Marlborough Road, Sulgrave Village, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE37 3BG.