South Hetton Primary

South Hetton Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all areas of its provision, including education quality, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and management. The school prides itself on fostering a learning environment where pupils feel safe and valued, promoting important values such as perseverance, independence, and teamwork. Parents appreciate the strong sense of community and support within the school, contributing to a positive atmosphere for learning. Although the curriculum is carefully designed to enhance pupils’ understanding and connections between subjects, there are areas for growth, particularly in science where the curriculum still needs refining. Additionally, while efforts are robust for reading instruction, some early-stage readers do not have books well-aligned with their phonics knowledge, hindering their development. Addressing these issues will ensure that every pupil builds confidence and fluency in their reading skills.

Strengths

• Strong curriculum promotes respect and understanding of the wider world.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND to access learning.
• High levels of pupil engagement and positive behaviour.
• Commitment to ensuring every child learns to read well.
• Strong personal development curriculum with varied extracurricular opportunities.
• Positive feedback from parents regarding school community.

Areas for Improvement

• Science curriculum lacks clarity on essential knowledge for pupils.
• Some early readers do not have suitable books matching their phonics knowledge.

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 South Hetton Primary attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.0% 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 South Hetton Primary 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 South Hetton Primary had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 21.8% of pupils at South Hetton Primary were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 South Hetton Primary received £7,729 and spent £7,778 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £291,000 (£1,550 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Tudhoe Learning Trust, income was £7,731 and spending £7,710 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 Durham · County Durham local authority: places and applications

South Hetton Primary is part of Tudhoe Learning Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Acre Rigg Academy Peterlee
• Dene House Primary School Peterlee
• Tudhoe Colliery Primary School Spennymoor
• Shield Row Primary School Stanley
• Victoria Lane Academy Bishop Auckland
• Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School Newton Aycliffe

What is South Hetton Primary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Hetton Primary is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was South Hetton Primary last inspected by Ofsted?

South Hetton Primary was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does South Hetton Primary have?

South Hetton Primary has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Hetton Primary cover?

South Hetton Primary for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are South Hetton Primary's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is South Hetton Primary?

South Hetton Primary is at Frederick Terrace, South Hetton, Durham, DH6 2TJ.