Brambles Primary Academy

Brambles Primary Academy is a highly effective school that sits at the heart of its community and provides excellent education and support for pupils and families. Inspectors found outstanding provision across the school, with very high expectations, exemplary behaviour, strong relationships and a calm, purposeful learning environment. The curriculum is engaging and well sequenced, reading and phonics are high priorities, and pupils with SEND are supported exceptionally well. Early years provision gives children a strong start, and personal development is exemplary, including careers, debate, trips and holiday clubs. The school has a clear vision that is lived out in practice, and leaders are ambitious and tenacious in improving outcomes. Staff value the support they receive to manage workload, and families speak highly of the care and wider support the school provides. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of Tees Valley Education Trust, has a well-above-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, having previously been exempt after an outstanding judgement in 2014. The main area for further work is attendance. The school has taken effective action and most groups now attend regularly, but a small number of pupils continue to miss school and therefore miss the exceptional education on offer.

Strengths

• An engaging and well-sequenced curriculum builds prior knowledge and skills over time.
• Reading is a high priority, with a well-embedded phonics programme and well-matched books.
• Pupils with SEND are identified and supported exceptionally well through specialist support and tailored adaptations.
• Children in early years get off to a flying start through very strong curriculum design and delivery.
• Behaviour is exemplary, and the school is exceptionally calm and purposeful.
• Personal development is exemplary and highly inclusive, with a strong careers programme and wide opportunities.
• Exceptional pastoral support provides a very high level of care for pupils and families.
• Leaders at all levels are ambitious, tenacious and highly supportive of staff workload.
• Strong relationships and high expectations help many pupils achieve highly and make excellent progress.
• The school is held in exceptionally high regard by families and sits at the heart of its community.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils continue to miss too much school and do not benefit fully from the education on offer.

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 Brambles Primary Academy attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.9% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Brambles 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 Brambles Primary Academy had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.6% 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, 13.4% of pupils at Brambles Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Brambles Primary Academy received £7,629 and spent £8,271 for each of its 342 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £284,000 (-£831 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Tees Valley Education, income was £12,163 and spending £12,330 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 Middlesbrough · Middlesbrough local authority: places and applications

Brambles Primary Academy is part of Tees Valley Education, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Pennyman Primary Academy Middlesbrough
• Discovery Special Academy Middlesbrough
• Wilton Primary Academy Redcar
• Dormanstown Primary Academy Redcar

What is Brambles Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brambles Primary Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Brambles Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Brambles Primary Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Brambles Primary Academy have?

Brambles Primary Academy has 359 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brambles Primary Academy cover?

Brambles Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brambles Primary Academy?

Brambles Primary Academy is at Kedward Avenue, Brambles, Middlesbrough, Teesside, TS3 9DB.