Tudhoe Colliery Primary School

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School is performing well overall. Inspectors found a successful, community-focused school where a bespoke curriculum, strong reading culture and exceptional personal development help pupils achieve well and develop into respectful, empathetic young people. Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, early years provision is good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Staff are proud to work at the school, and parents are overwhelmingly positive. The main areas for improvement are in mathematics and leadership capacity. The mathematics curriculum is not implemented consistently, so some pupils, including pupils with SEND, develop gaps or do not move on to problem-solving and reasoning as often as they should. Recent staffing turbulence has also left senior leaders responsible for multiple subjects, increasing workload; the school and trust have plans to distribute subject leadership more widely. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, following a previous outstanding judgment in 2014. The headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher are new in post from September 2024, and the school is the founding school of Tudhoe Learning Trust. Under current inspection arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is given.

Strengths

• Bespoke curriculum meets pupils’ needs and builds knowledge over time
• Expertly delivered phonics with rapid catch-up for pupils who fall behind
• Strong reading culture with ambitious, diverse literature plans
• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, including respect, kindness and empathy
• Personal development is skilfully woven through the curriculum, including Tudhoe 30
• Early years children settle quickly and learn routines well
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Staff feel well supported and are exceptionally proud of pupils
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school

Areas for Improvement

• Mathematics curriculum is not taught consistently well, so some pupils develop gaps or miss problem-solving and reasoning
• Some pupils with SEND do not reach ambitious outcomes because learning is not consistently adapted to their needs
• Subject leadership is concentrated among senior leaders due to staffing turbulence, adding to workload

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 Tudhoe Colliery Primary School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.4% 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 Tudhoe Colliery 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 Tudhoe Colliery Primary School had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.5% 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, 19.8% of pupils at Tudhoe Colliery Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Tudhoe Colliery Primary School received £6,906 and spent £6,931 for each of its 204 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £168,000 (£824 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Tudhoe Learning Trust, income was £7,731 and spending £7,710 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 Spennymoor · County Durham local authority: places and applications

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School is part of Tudhoe Learning Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Victoria Lane Academy Bishop Auckland
• Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School Newton Aycliffe
• South Hetton Primary Durham
• Acre Rigg Academy Peterlee
• Dene House Primary School Peterlee
• Shield Row Primary School Stanley

What is Tudhoe Colliery Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tudhoe Colliery Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Tudhoe Colliery Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Tudhoe Colliery Primary School have?

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School has 212 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tudhoe Colliery Primary School cover?

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tudhoe Colliery Primary School?

Tudhoe Colliery Primary School is at Front Street, Tudhoe Colliery, Tudhoe Colliery Primary School, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16 6TJ.