St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School

St Oswald’s Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is maintaining its good performance overall. The school is characterized by a welcoming environment where pupils feel safe, enjoy learning, and have developed respectful relationships with staff. High expectations are set for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and the curriculum is designed to instill a strong sense of identity and place. The school's approach to teaching foundational skills, particularly reading and mathematics, has proven effective, contributing to pupils’ positive learning experiences and outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a caring and supportive learning environment.
• High expectations from staff allow pupils to thrive.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND ensures they achieve well.
• Reading is a priority, with engaging texts chosen for pupil interest.
• Mathematics teaching reinforces previous learning effectively.
• Positive behavior and engagement in lessons are evident.

Areas for Improvement

• The art and design curriculum lacks clarity on specific knowledge and skills needed for progression.
• Some staff require professional development to effectively teach art and design.

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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School attended 95.8% 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, 0.7% of pupils at St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery 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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.6% 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, 11.7% of pupils at St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery 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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School received £9,289 and spent £9,110 for each of its 137 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £236,000 (£1,723 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

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What is St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School have?

St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School has 137 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School cover?

St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School?

St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is at Church Street, Durham, DH1 3DQ.