Hexham First School

Hexham First School is a small, inclusive primary where pupils are happy, cared for and behave well. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is generally good, and early years provision gives children a positive start. Leaders have a clear understanding of priorities after a period of uncertainty and the recent appointment of a new headteacher, and governors and staff are supportive. Most areas, including attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development, meet the expected standard. The main concerns are in achievement and curriculum and teaching. The quality of teaching is variable across subjects and year groups, and some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, develop gaps in foundational reading, writing and mathematics. Assessment is not consistently used to adapt teaching, phonics support is uneven, and some pupils are given too much help to develop independence. As a result, a minority are not well prepared for their next steps, and leaders' improvement work is at an early stage. The school serves a below-average-sized pupil population with above-average free school meals eligibility and well-above-average SEN support. Leaders know what needs to improve, but they must embed consistently effective teaching and closely monitor the impact of pupil premium spending to secure better progress for all pupils.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Pupils are happy, cared for and benefit from warm, supportive relationships with staff.
• Behaviour has improved and is calm and nurturing; bullying is very rare and dealt with effectively.
• Leaders have clear oversight of attendance and most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, attend regularly.
• Early years provision is effective and helps children get off to a positive start, with most reaching a good level of development.
• Inclusion is a strength: pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are identified early and supported well.
• Governors know the school well, hold leaders to account and supported the school through a challenging period.
• Personal development is suitable and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain, including through community engagement.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value leaders' support for their workload and wellbeing.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching quality varies across subjects and year groups, so the curriculum is not consistently taught well.
• A minority of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, have gaps in foundational reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teachers do not always check what pupils know to adapt their teaching, leaving gaps in understanding.
• Some pupils with SEND receive too much support, which limits their independence.
• Phonics support is variable, so some pupils do not catch up quickly enough.
• Reading books in key stage 1 are not always well matched to pupils' ability.
• The impact of the pupil premium strategy is not closely monitored.
• Some pupils are not well prepared for their next steps, and improvement work is in its early stages.
• Recent leadership uncertainty has affected the effectiveness of some aspects of the school's work.

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 Hexham First School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.7% 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, 7.3% of pupils at Hexham First 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 Hexham First School had 13.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 29.4% of pupils at Hexham First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.4% 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 Hexham First School received £10,918 and spent £11,523 for each of its 66 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £112,000 (-£1,698 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 Hexham · Northumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Hexham First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hexham First School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Hexham First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hexham First School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Hexham First School have?

Hexham First School has 68 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hexham First School cover?

Hexham First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Hexham First School?

Hexham First School is at Beaufront Avenue, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1JD.