Diamond Hall Infant Academy

Diamond Hall Infant Academy is a larger-than-average infant school that inspectors found to be performing well across all judged areas, including early years. Pupils are well cared for and feel safe, behave well, and benefit from strong relationships and clear routines. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, and reading is a priority, with consistent phonics teaching, well-matched books and effective support for pupils with SEND or those who speak English as an additional language. Personal development is a strength, with a wide range of clubs, visits and pupil responsibilities, and leaders, trustees and staff work cohesively. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement relate to phonics practice and oracy. Although phonics is taught well, some pupils do not get enough opportunities to practise and learn new sounds, which can slow their progress toward fluency. The recently revised oracy curriculum is not yet fully embedded, and some pupils struggle to explain their thinking or talk about what they have remembered. Contextually, the school has well-above-average proportions of pupils with SEND and pupils who speak English as an additional language, and it has nursery provision for two-year-olds. It has a new headteacher since the previous inspection, and this was its first routine inspection since the pandemic; published phonics outcomes do not fully reflect the quality of teaching, partly because some pupils arrive at the early stages of acquiring English.

Strengths

• Broad, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum from early years upwards
• Strong phonics teaching with consistent staff training and well-matched reading books
• Effective support and inclusion for pupils with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language
• Pupils feel safe, are polite and behave well in lessons and social times
• Clear routines and positive relationships support good behaviour from the early years
• Wide personal development offer including clubs, visits and pupil responsibilities
• Pupils learn about equality, diversity, faiths and cultures, and difference is celebrated
• Leaders have a consistent and ambitious vision, and trustees fulfil statutory duties well
• Staff workload and well-being are considered, and staff feel valued and supported
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Work with families and other services has improved attendance for some pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not get enough opportunities to practise and learn new sounds, slowing their reading fluency
• The recently revised oracy curriculum is not yet fully implemented
• Some pupils struggle to explain their thinking or talk clearly about their learning

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 Diamond Hall Infant Academy attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.8% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Diamond Hall Infant 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 Diamond Hall Infant Academy had 27.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.2% 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, 20.7% of pupils at Diamond Hall Infant Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Diamond Hall Infant Academy received £7,402 and spent £7,433 for each of its 323 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £373,000 (£1,157 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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What is Diamond Hall Infant Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Diamond Hall Infant Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Diamond Hall Infant Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Diamond Hall Infant Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Diamond Hall Infant Academy have?

Diamond Hall Infant Academy has 314 pupils on roll.

What age range does Diamond Hall Infant Academy cover?

Diamond Hall Infant Academy for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Diamond Hall Infant Academy?

Diamond Hall Infant Academy is at Well Street, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR4 6JF.