Tanfield Lea Community Primary School

Tanfield Lea Community Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school that has undergone a leadership change since its last inspection, with a new headteacher appointed in September 2024. Inspectors found the school to be performing well overall, with the early years and attendance and behaviour identified as particular strengths. Children in the early years make rapid progress from their starting points, and behaviour across the school is calm, purposeful and respectful, with very low absence rates. Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school is described as inclusive, with strong support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school is judged to be meeting expected standards in achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils leave Key Stage 2 with outcomes broadly in line with national averages, though disadvantaged pupils' attainment lags behind their non-disadvantaged peers nationally, particularly in reading and writing. The writing curriculum has been strengthened in English lessons, but these high standards are not yet consistently applied across other subjects. Two priorities for improvement are identified: ensuring that support strategies for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are used consistently across all classes and key stages, and maintaining consistent expectations for handwriting, spelling and grammar in all curriculum subjects. Overall, pupils are well prepared for secondary school, attendance has improved year on year, and staff morale is high under the new leadership.

Strengths

• Early years provision is a strength, with children making rapid progress in vocabulary, number and phonics
• Attendance is high and persistent absence is well below national averages, with sensitive support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Behaviour is excellent: classrooms are calm and purposeful, bullying is rare, and pupils are courteous and respectful
• The school is highly inclusive, with tenacious advocacy for equality and effective support for pupils with complex needs
• Leadership has established a clear vision and values, with strong governance and high staff morale
• The 'children's charter' provides a rich range of personal development opportunities, including residentials, trips and clubs
• Reading is taught effectively, and the writing curriculum has been improved to prioritise key skills in English lessons
• Disadvantaged pupils participate well in wider curriculum opportunities and clubs
• Pupils feel safe, valued and part of a welcoming community, with strong relationships between staff and pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Support strategies for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not used consistently across all classes and key stages
• Expectations for handwriting, spelling and grammar are not applied consistently across all curriculum subjects, hindering the quality of writing in the wider curriculum
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment remains below national averages in reading and writing, with a persistent disadvantage gap

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 Tanfield Lea Community Primary School attended 95.9% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Tanfield Lea Community 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 Tanfield Lea Community Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 20.3% of pupils at Tanfield Lea Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.3% 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 Tanfield Lea Community Primary School received £7,414 and spent £7,487 for each of its 314 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £394,000 (£1,256 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 Stanley · County Durham local authority: places and applications

What is Tanfield Lea Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tanfield Lea Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Tanfield Lea Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tanfield Lea Community Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Tanfield Lea Community Primary School have?

Tanfield Lea Community Primary School has 325 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tanfield Lea Community Primary School cover?

Tanfield Lea Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Tanfield Lea Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tanfield Lea Community Primary School?

Tanfield Lea Community Primary School is at Tanfield Lea, Stanley, County Durham, DH9 9LU.