Fulwell Infant School Academy

Fulwell Infant School Academy is a warm, ambitious school where pupils and families value strong relationships and communication. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014, when it was judged outstanding and subsequently exempt. Under the current framework the school is graded good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision, with no overall effectiveness grade given. The school's provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a significant strength, and children get an excellent start in Nursery. Pupils behave well, attend regularly, enjoy a wide curriculum and are well prepared for their next stage. Reading in Reception is strong, and recent work to improve mathematics has been effective. Leaders, governors and trustees share a clear vision, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are reading fluency for some pupils and curriculum precision in some wider subjects. Some pupils have not had sufficiently focused support to recall letters and sounds quickly enough, which hampers blending and comprehension. In subjects such as art and design, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is less clear, and assessment does not consistently check whether pupils retain key knowledge over time.

Strengths

• High-quality provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a significant strength.
• Pupils and families value warm, positive relationships and strong communication with the school.
• Children get an excellent start to their education in the Nursery.
• Pupils behave well, are respectful and feel safe in school.
• Pupils attend regularly and become curious, enthusiastic learners.
• Recent changes have ensured children in Reception learn to read extremely well.
• Highly effective work has strengthened mathematics teaching and pupils' confidence with numbers.
• Pupils experience a wide range of stories and enjoy reading.
• Personal development provision helps pupils understand respect, relationships and online safety.
• Trustees, governors, leaders and staff share a clear and ambitious vision.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have not had sufficiently focused support to recall letters and corresponding sounds quickly enough, which hampers fluent reading and comprehension.
• In some subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not defined clearly enough.
• In some subjects, assessment does not consistently check whether pupils retain key knowledge over time.

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 Fulwell Infant School Academy attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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 Fulwell Infant School 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 Fulwell Infant School Academy had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% 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, 5.6% of pupils at Fulwell Infant School 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 2024–25 Fulwell Infant School Academy received £6,496 and spent £6,520 for each of its 337 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £599,000 (£1,777 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Jigsaw Learning Trust, income was £6,325 and spending £6,330 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 Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

Fulwell Infant School Academy is part of Jigsaw Learning Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Ouston Primary School Chester Le Street

What is Fulwell Infant School Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fulwell Infant School Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Fulwell Infant School Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Fulwell Infant School Academy was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Fulwell Infant School Academy have?

Fulwell Infant School Academy has 354 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fulwell Infant School Academy cover?

Fulwell Infant School Academy for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Fulwell Infant School Academy?

Fulwell Infant School Academy is at Ebdon Lane, Fulwell, Fulwell Infant School Academy, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR6 8ED.