Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School

Chester-le-Street Church of England Primary School is a warm, welcoming and inclusive school. Most areas of its work are judged to meet the expected standard, and safeguarding is met. Leaders have a clear understanding of the school, have recently rewritten the curriculum, and have introduced new approaches to phonics and writing. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well supported, and the school's resourced provision for pupils with autism and specific and/or moderate learning difficulties is a notable part of its context. The main concern is achievement, which needs attention. A significant minority of pupils have gaps in their learning and attainment below national averages in some areas. In 2025, too many pupils did not reach the expected standard in the phonics screening check, and the recent improvements to phonics are too new to show impact beyond the early years. Older pupils who are still at an early stage of reading are not supported well enough to catch up, and a significant minority do not make sufficient progress in key writing skills. Some pupils with gaps also do not receive the support they need to catch up. There are considerable strengths. Pastoral support, attendance strategies, behaviour and inclusion are positive, and the early years provision gives children a strong start, including through the recently developed 2- and 3-year-old provision. The personal development programme is broad and inclusive, and staff benefit from high-quality training. Governors hold leaders to account and direct resources appropriately. However, a significant minority of parents feel concerns are not addressed quickly enough, and pupils' understanding of protected characteristics needs further development.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming and inclusive school culture where pupils quickly feel they belong
• Effective pastoral support and emotional wellbeing workshops for pupils and parents
• Attendance strategies are effective and most pupils attend regularly
• Positive behaviour approach; pupils are polite, respectful and bullying is rare
• Curriculum is carefully designed and sequenced with local heritage and geography themes
• Early years provision is a priority and children get off to a strong start
• Phonics is taught with precision in the early years
• Strong inclusion and effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND
• Pupils with complex needs thrive in the enhanced learning provision
• Leaders and governors have a clear, accurate understanding of the school and hold leaders to account
• High-quality staff training improves teaching and support for pupils with barriers to learning
• Broad and inclusive personal development programme with equal access to visits and experiences
• Pupils learn how to stay safe online and offline and understand healthy relationships

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because a significant minority of pupils have gaps in their learning and attainment below national averages in some areas
• Too many pupils did not achieve the expected standard in the 2025 phonics screening check
• Recent phonics improvements are too new to show impact beyond the early years
• Older pupils who are still at an early stage of reading are not supported well enough to catch up
• Reading books for older pupils do not give enough opportunities to apply phonic knowledge and develop fluency
• A significant minority of pupils do not make sufficient progress in key writing skills, including grammar, punctuation, handwriting and spelling
• Some pupils with gaps in their understanding do not receive support to help them catch up
• Disadvantaged pupils' attendance has improved but requires further sustained work
• A significant minority of parents feel concerns are not addressed quickly enough
• Pupils' understanding of protected characteristics is less secure and requires further curriculum development

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 Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.3% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) 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 Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School had 19.4 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, 21.2% of pupils at Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 15 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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School received £9,055 and spent £8,786 for each of its 253 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £418,000 (£1,656 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 Chester Le Street · County Durham local authority: places and applications

What is Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School have?

Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School has 260 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School cover?

Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School for pupils aged 0 to 11.

What are Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School?

Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School is at Hilda Park, Chester le Street, County Durham, DH2 2JT.