Newbottle Primary Academy

Newbottle Primary Academy is a larger-than-average primary school in Houghton le Spring, part of Aim High Academy Trust. This June 2026 section 5 inspection found the school performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding standards met. It has a lower-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and with EHC plans, though it is located in an area of above-average deprivation. Pupils are happy, safe and attend regularly; they behave well, take pride in their work and achieve well by the end of key stage 2, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. The early years provision is a particular strength, and pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education. The curriculum is ambitious and broad, with a strong focus on foundations and timely support for gaps. Pupils with SEND are generally well supported and included, and leaders know the school community well. Staff feel valued and supported, and pupils benefit from a wide personal development offer, including enrichment, residentials and leadership roles. Attendance is a strength, with low overall and persistent absence. Leaders have correctly identified the main areas for further work. These include sharpening early reading support for a small number of pupils, strengthening basic writing skills, developing expertise for pupils who need help with emotional regulation and behaviour, making SEND targets more precise, and increasing the rigour with which inclusion and personal development work is monitored. Overall, this is a school providing the expected standard of education, with clear, sensible next steps rather than urgent concerns.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education.
• Pupils learn to read fluently and develop secure reading foundations by the end of key stage 1.
• Pupils produce high-quality work and take pride in their learning.
• Attendance is rigorously tracked and well promoted, with low overall and persistent absence.
• Pupils behave positively, enjoy school and are not worried about bullying.
• The curriculum is ambitious, broad and prioritises strong foundations for all pupils.
• Staff are knowledgeable and provide timely additional support to close gaps in knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and included alongside their peers in lessons.
• The early years curriculum is highly effective, well designed and delivered in a nurturing environment.
• Leaders know the school community well and use external advice to strengthen SEND support.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with effective professional development and attention to wellbeing.
• The personal development programme provides rich enrichment, residentials and pupil leadership opportunities.
• Parents value the welcoming, supportive culture and the pastoral and practical help provided.

Areas for Improvement

• Support for some pupils to read accurately as early as possible is still being fine-tuned.
• The school is still strengthening how it ensures pupils secure basic writing skills.
• Expertise to support some pupils with emotional regulation and behaviour is still developing.
• Targets and support for a small number of pupils with SEND are not yet precise enough.
• Monitoring of some inclusion work needs more rigour to show impact on closing gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Leaders should continue strengthening systems to reduce barriers to learning with increasing rigour.
• Foundational reading and writing gaps need to be narrowed quickly and reflected in sustained above-average outcomes.
• The personal development programme needs further tailoring to the school's context and wider pupil participation.

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 Newbottle Primary Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.4% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Newbottle 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 Newbottle Primary Academy had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.0% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Newbottle Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 Newbottle Primary Academy received £6,167 and spent £5,271 for each of its 426 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £715,000 (£1,678 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Aim High Academy Trust, income was £6,653 and spending £6,045 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 Houghton Le Spring · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

Newbottle Primary Academy is part of Aim High Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Dubmire Primary Houghton Le Spring
• Gillas Lane Primary Academy Houghton Le Spring

What is Newbottle Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Newbottle Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Newbottle Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Newbottle Primary Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Newbottle Primary Academy have?

Newbottle Primary Academy has 437 pupils on roll.

What age range does Newbottle Primary Academy cover?

Newbottle Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Newbottle Primary Academy?

Newbottle Primary Academy is at Houghton Road, Newbottle, Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear, DH4 4EE.