Abbey Infants' School

Abbey Infants' School is performing well, rated as good across multiple domains including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and early years provision. The school fosters a welcoming and safe environment where pupils feel supported and encouraged to express themselves. With a strong curriculum that emphasizes skills and knowledge, pupils are well-prepared for their next stages of learning, particularly in reading and mathematics. Notably, the school benefits from a close partnership with Abbey Junior School, aiding the transition for Year 2 pupils moving into Year 3.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and supported by caring staff.
• The curriculum is broad, well-organised and ambitious.
• Daily phonics sessions are taught consistently well.
• Strong focus on personal development and well-being.
• Good attendance rates among pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects, like history and RE, require further curriculum development.
• Teachers in certain subjects do not have clear guidance on content delivery.

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 Abbey Infants' School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.7% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Abbey Infants' 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 Abbey Infants' School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.3% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Abbey Infants' School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 2024–25 Abbey Infants' School received £6,483 and spent £6,643 for each of its 265 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £5,000 (-£18 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Melrose Learning Trust, income was £6,415 and spending £6,505 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

Abbey Infants' School is part of Melrose Learning Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Abbey Junior School Darlington
• St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School Darlington
• High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Darlington
• Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy Ferryhill
• Wynyard Church of England Primary School Wynyard
• Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy Spennymoor
• Prior's Mill CofE Primary School Billingham
• Greatham CofE Primary School Hartlepool
• Hutton Henry CofE (Controlled) Primary School Hartlepool
• St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham Durham

What is Abbey Infants' School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Abbey Infants' School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Abbey Infants' School last inspected by Ofsted?

Abbey Infants' School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Abbey Infants' School have?

Abbey Infants' School has 264 pupils on roll.

What age range does Abbey Infants' School cover?

Abbey Infants' School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Abbey Infants' School?

Abbey Infants' School is at Cleveland Terrace, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 8JA.