Rothbury First School

Rothbury First School is a happy, vibrant and highly ambitious community first school where pupils are proud to attend and parents are overwhelmingly positive. Behaviour and attitudes are a standout strength: pupils are respectful, kind, well mannered and focused, and relationships between staff and pupils are warm and attentive to individual needs. The curriculum is well designed and reading is celebrated, with structured phonics and swift support for pupils who struggle. Early years provision is strong, SEND support is highly effective, and leadership and governance are highly effective with strong attention to staff wellbeing and development. The main areas for improvement are limited but clear. In some foundation subjects, assessment is not rigorous enough to identify gaps in pupils’ learning quickly, so pupils do not always achieve as well in those subjects as they do elsewhere. Pupils also have a less secure understanding of other faiths and beliefs, despite being respectful of difference and diversity. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and was a graded inspection under the arrangements from September 2024, so no overall effectiveness grade was given. The school is a small community first school for pupils aged 3 to 9, with 82 pupils on roll.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud, safe, happy and enthusiastic learners.
• Behaviour and attitudes are exemplary, with high levels of respect and kindness.
• Warm relationships between staff and pupils support pupils’ individual needs.
• The curriculum is well designed and builds knowledge in a well-ordered way.
• Reading is celebrated, with structured phonics and swift support for pupils who struggle.
• Pupils with SEND are swiftly identified and highly effectively supported.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start and fosters a love of learning.
• Leadership and governance are highly effective, with strong staff wellbeing and development.
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of extracurricular and personal development opportunities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment in some foundation subjects does not identify gaps in pupils’ learning quickly enough.
• Pupils’ understanding of other faiths and beliefs is less secure.

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 Rothbury First School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.8% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Rothbury 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 Rothbury First School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% 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, 18.1% of pupils at Rothbury First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Rothbury First School received £7,884 and spent £7,937 for each of its 89 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £14,000 (-£156 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 Morpeth · Northumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Rothbury First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rothbury First School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Rothbury First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Rothbury First School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Rothbury First School have?

Rothbury First School has 94 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rothbury First School cover?

Rothbury First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Rothbury First School?

Rothbury First School is at Addycombe, Rothbury, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE65 7PG.