Toft Hill Primary School

Toft Hill Primary School is a highly valued community school with a warm, nurturing ethos and very positive relationships with families. Inspectors found that pupils enjoy school, attend well, behave exceptionally and achieve well, with personal development and behaviour standing out as particular strengths. The curriculum has been reviewed and is broad, ambitious and logically sequenced, with strong provision for pupils with SEND and a high priority on reading and phonics. Governance is strong and leaders are considerate of staff welfare. The main area for improvement is that learning is not always matched precisely enough to pupils' needs. On occasion, teachers' assessment of what pupils know and can do is not used accurately and effectively, which can limit the progress some pupils make in lessons. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014, following a period of exemption. Under arrangements introduced in September 2024, the school was not awarded an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Warm, nurturing ethos and very positive relationships with families
• High aspirations for all pupils, including from the early years
• Pupils behave exceptionally and have very positive attitudes to learning
• Personal development is a central strength, preparing pupils well for life beyond school
• Broad, ambitious and logically sequenced curriculum
• Strong, caring provision for pupils with SEND, who are fully included in school life
• High priority on reading and effective phonics teaching
• Effective use of external support and local authority expertise, including in writing and mathematics
• Strong governance focused on pupils' best interests
• Leaders are considerate of staff welfare and workload
• Pupils attend well and are safe in a calm, welcoming environment

Areas for Improvement

• Learning is not always precisely matched to pupils' ability, so some pupils may not make the progress they could.
• Teachers' assessment is not consistently used accurately and effectively to adapt learning for all pupils.

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 Toft Hill Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Toft Hill 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 Toft Hill Primary School had 24.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.5% 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, 9.9% of pupils at Toft Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Toft Hill Primary School received £6,435 and spent £6,516 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £50,000 (£245 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 Bishop Auckland · County Durham local authority: places and applications

What is Toft Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Toft Hill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Toft Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Toft Hill Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Toft Hill Primary School have?

Toft Hill Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Toft Hill Primary School cover?

Toft Hill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Toft Hill Primary School?

Toft Hill Primary School is at Toft Hill, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0JA.