Riverside Primary Academy

Riverside Primary Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in most areas, with particularly strong outcomes in behaviour and attitudes, which are rated as 'Outstanding'. The school has a welcoming and inclusive ethos, fostering an environment where pupils feel safe, supported, and engaged in their learning. Parents commend the school for its commitment to the well-being and academic growth of every child, reflecting the school's dedication to high expectations and positive relationships among pupils and staff. This is the first routine inspection since before the COVID-19 pandemic, following a lengthy gap due to previous exemptions from inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate exemplary behaviour and strong friendships.
• The school has high expectations for pupil achievement.
• Curriculum design effectively prepares pupils for future stages in learning.
• Reading is prioritized, with a well-structured curriculum for literacy.
• Pupils are well-supported, including those with special educational needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Key knowledge in some areas of the wider curriculum is not clearly mapped out.

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 Riverside Primary Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Riverside Primary Academy 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 Riverside Primary Academy had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.1% 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, 29.1% of pupils at Riverside Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 2023–24 Riverside Primary Academy received £6,430 and spent £6,440 for each of its 309 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £314,000 (£1,016 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Oak Learning Trust, income was £7,526 and spending £7,564 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 Gateshead · Gateshead local authority: places and applications

Riverside Primary Academy is part of Oak Learning Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Springwell Village Primary School Gateshead
• George Washington Primary School Washington
• Fellgate Primary School Jarrow
• John F Kennedy Primary School Washington
• Columbia Grange School Washington
• Monkton Academy South Shields

What is Riverside Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Riverside Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in February 2024.

When was Riverside Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Riverside Primary Academy was last inspected in February 2024.

How many pupils does Riverside Primary Academy have?

Riverside Primary Academy has 302 pupils on roll.

What age range does Riverside Primary Academy cover?

Riverside Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Riverside Primary Academy?

Riverside Primary Academy is at Colliery Road, Dunston, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 9DX.