Seascape Primary School

Seascape Primary School remains in special measures following its January 2026 full inspection, and this June 2026 monitoring inspection found some improvement but not enough. The school serves 267 pupils in an area of high deprivation, with well-above-average free school meals and SEND levels. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils generally feel safe in a calm, caring school. Leaders have improved phonics and early reading, early writing in lower school, and the English curriculum; behaviour has become calmer and most pupils follow routines. However, achievement is still well below national in reading, writing and mathematics, especially for disadvantaged and SEND pupils, and support is inconsistent. Attendance remains low, early years expectations are too low, curriculum implementation varies, and personal development and wider experiences are limited. Leadership and governance remain a significant concern: professional development and assessment changes have not been shown to improve classroom practice consistently, governors do not challenge or monitor pupil premium effectively, and leaders have not yet secured the capacity to improve. The report sets out next steps focused on accurate SEND identification, checking learning, embedding curriculum changes, attendance, wider opportunities, personal development and early years communication and vocabulary.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Pupils feel safe and are taught how to keep physically and emotionally healthy.
• Recent actions to improve behaviour have made the school calmer and more orderly.
• Most pupils are polite, friendly and follow the school’s daily routines.
• Phonics teaching and early reading have improved, with books well matched to pupils’ known sounds.
• Early writing has improved, particularly in the lower part of the school.
• The English curriculum is now progressive and builds from the early years.
• External support has contributed to better phonics teaching and improved practice in some classes.
• Parents are generally positive about SEND support, and leaders engage external agencies well.
• Revised personal development work on tolerance and the rule of law is effective for older pupils.
• Pupils understand equality and can link it to their history learning.
• Circle time, community visits and food parcel work help build teamwork, confidence and interpersonal skills.
• Early detection of speech, language and communication needs often leads to appropriate support.
• Leaders are mindful of staff workload and have sought to improve staff morale.

Areas for Improvement

• The school remains in special measures and does not provide an acceptable standard of education.
• Pupils’ achievement remains well below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ progress remains very low, with a large gap to national non-disadvantaged peers.
• Support for pupils with SEND is variable, and needs are not always accurately identified or met.
• Checks on the impact of support are weak, and targets for vulnerable pupils are not regularly updated.
• Attendance is low and persistent absence is well above national averages, especially for SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Recent actions to improve attendance have not yet led to sustained improvement.
• Behaviour and engagement in lessons are variable and are not always addressed by teachers.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, particularly in key stage 2.
• Assessment systems are still developing, and teachers do not consistently identify or address gaps in learning.
• Early years expectations are too low, and too many children leave unable to write simple words or show basic number understanding.
• Early years interactions and vocabulary teaching are not consistently high quality.
• Pupils’ recall of the personal development programme is weak, including limited knowledge of faiths beyond Christianity.
• Clubs, trips and memorable wider experiences are limited.
• Governors do not provide sufficient challenge or effectively oversee pupil premium and statutory responsibilities.
• Professional learning has not been shown to improve classroom quality consistently across the school.

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 Seascape Primary School attended 90.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 29.2% 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, 4.1% of pupils at Seascape 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 Seascape Primary School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 24.7% of pupils at Seascape Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Seascape Primary School received £10,201 and spent £10,321 for each of its 246 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £58,000 (£237 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 Peterlee · County Durham local authority: places and applications

What is Seascape Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Seascape Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Seascape Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Seascape Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Seascape Primary School have?

Seascape Primary School has 263 pupils on roll.

What age range does Seascape Primary School cover?

Seascape Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Seascape Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 7% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Seascape Primary School?

Seascape Primary School is at Ellison Road, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 5NJ.