Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy is a warm, aspirational school where pupils thrive and are well prepared for life beyond primary school. This was its first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy in the Together Learning Partnership, and it serves a community with above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEND. Pupils feel safe and supported, behaviour is strong, and the school’s personal development offer is exceptional, including wide enrichment, community activity and a clear focus on equality and ambition.

Strengths

• Exceptional personal development provision that develops pupils’ character and readiness for future citizenship
• Pupils behave exceptionally well and understand the rights of others to learn uninterrupted
• Warm, positive relationships between staff and pupils, with pupils saying they feel safe and supported
• Strong reading and phonics teaching, with pupils learning to read successfully from an early age
• Pupils who need extra reading support catch up quickly with their peers
• A well-planned EYFS curriculum that prepares children well for the next stage of education
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, with detailed information used to adapt learning in most lessons
• Diligent and skilled governance, with leaders who understand the school’s strengths and next steps
• Staff feel well supported and value the training and development opportunities available
• Significant success in reducing persistent absence and supporting individual families

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is variable, with some lessons not breaking learning into manageable chunks or giving enough practice
• In some wider-curriculum subjects, explanations and activities do not help pupils learn the curriculum as well as they might
• Assessment is not consistently effective across foundation subjects, so staff do not always identify gaps in knowledge and skills
• Pupils sometimes struggle to remember prior learning because gaps are not addressed quickly enough
• The EYFS outdoor learning area is less well developed, limiting children’s experience of the curriculum
• Further adaptations for some pupils with SEND would benefit them in the classroom
• Attendance for some groups of pupils still needs to improve to meet the school’s ambitious targets

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 Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.7% 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, 0.8% of pupils at Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery 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 Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy had 30.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 21.4% of pupils at Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy received £7,497 and spent £6,830 for each of its 232 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £515,000 (£2,219 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Melrose Learning Trust, income was £5,868 and spending £6,041 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 Ferryhill · County Durham local authority: places and applications

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy is part of Melrose Learning Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy Spennymoor
• St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham Durham
• Hutton Henry CofE (Controlled) Primary School Hartlepool
• Wynyard Church of England Primary School Wynyard
• Esh CofE (Aided) Primary School Durham
• Easington CofE Primary School Peterlee
• Prior's Mill CofE Primary School Billingham
• St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School Darlington
• Abbey Junior School Darlington
• High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Darlington

What is Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy have?

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy has 248 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy cover?

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy?

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy is at Cleves Cross, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 8QY.