Eppleton Academy Primary School

Eppleton Academy Primary is a friendly, inclusive school where pupils are well cared for and behave well. Inspectors found strong foundations in the early years, effective early reading support, and a rich, broad curriculum, with particular strengths in personal development, support for pupils with SEND, and the wide range of enrichment opportunities. The school is ambitious for pupils, and relationships between staff and pupils are warm and positive. All key judgements were good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have responded to weak end-of-key-stage-2 outcomes in 2023: mathematics is improving and reading is steadily improving, but reading is not yet consistent enough by the end of key stage 2. In some wider curriculum subjects, the most important knowledge is not identified clearly enough, which can limit how well pupils build their knowledge. Governance is effective and staff feel well supported with manageable workload. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Warm, positive relationships and strong pastoral care
• Ambitious curriculum with strong early years foundations
• Effective early reading support and a developing reading-for-pleasure culture
• Strong mathematics teaching and improving problem solving
• Timely, effective support for pupils with SEND
• Pupils behave well, are polite and attend well
• Personal development is a particular strength, including equality and well-being
• Wide enrichment activities and pupil leadership opportunities
• Effective governance that understands the local community
• Leaders manage staff workload well and support staff well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not yet achieve well enough in reading by the end of key stage 2
• Some pupils lack the knowledge to become confident and fluent readers
• Teaching of reading is not consistent enough across key stages 1 and 2
• In some wider curriculum subjects, the most important knowledge is not clearly identified
• This can limit how well pupils build knowledge in some subjects
• End of key stage 2 reading and mathematics results in 2023 were too low, although improvements are underway

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 Eppleton Academy Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Eppleton Academy 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 Eppleton Academy Primary School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% 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, 15.9% of pupils at Eppleton Academy Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 2024–25 Eppleton Academy Primary School received £6,852 and spent £6,930 for each of its 207 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £231,000 (£1,119 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.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Houghton Le Spring · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

What is Eppleton Academy Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Eppleton Academy Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Eppleton Academy Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Eppleton Academy Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Eppleton Academy Primary School have?

Eppleton Academy Primary School has 208 pupils on roll.

What age range does Eppleton Academy Primary School cover?

Eppleton Academy Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Eppleton Academy Primary School?

Eppleton Academy Primary School is at Church Road, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear, DH5 9AJ.