Badger Hill Academy

Badger Hill Academy is a small, inclusive primary school within Northern Education Trust. This full inspection found safeguarding standards met and strong practice in attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils attend very well, behave positively, feel safe and are well supported, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has a nurturing culture, strong parental partnerships and a broad enrichment offer. Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics, with outcomes above national averages, and disadvantaged pupils achieve better than disadvantaged pupils nationally. Early years provision is a notable strength, including the recently opened provision for 2-year-olds. Leadership is well supported by the trust, training is prioritised and parents are extremely positive about the school. The main area for development is the wider subject curriculum. Some pupils are less secure in recalling and applying prior learning because teaching is inconsistent across wider subjects, and some teachers do not identify gaps or misconceptions effectively. Leaders are revising the curriculum and embedding a consistent teaching approach, but it is too soon to see the full impact, and systems for checking teaching quality need strengthening.

Strengths

• Attendance is a clear priority and pupils attend well above national averages.
• Pupils behave very well, bullying is very rare and staff respond quickly when issues arise.
• Early years provision is strong, including for children who are 2 years old.
• Inclusion systems identify pupils' needs quickly and support disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND well.
• Personal development is broad and ambitious, with extensive enrichment and careers education.
• Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics, with outcomes above national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve better than disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make impressive progress in English and mathematics.
• Leadership is well supported by the trust and prioritises high-quality, research-based training.
• Parents are extremely positive about the school and value open communication.
• Pupils understand fundamental British values well and are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching in wider curriculum subjects is inconsistent, so some pupils recall and apply prior learning less securely.
• Some teachers' questioning and checks of prior knowledge do not identify gaps or misconceptions effectively.
• Leaders' systems for checking the quality of teaching need enhancing to ensure consistent standards across subjects and year groups.

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 Badger Hill Academy attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.5% 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 Badger Hill 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 Badger Hill Academy had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 19.6% of pupils at Badger Hill Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.7% 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 Badger Hill Academy received £6,772 and spent £8,654 for each of its 141 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £159,000 (£1,126 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Northern Education Trust, income was £8,462 and spending £8,166 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 Saltburn-By-The-Sea · Redcar and Cleveland local authority: places and applications

Badger Hill Academy is part of Northern Education Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Freebrough Academy Saltburn-By-The-Sea
• Whitecliffe Academy Saltburn-By-The-Sea
• Manor Community Academy Hartlepool
• Thornaby Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Dyke House Sports and Technology College Hartlepool
• Norton Primary Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• North Shore Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Frederick Nattrass Primary Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• The Oak Tree Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• The Grangefield Academy Stockton-On-Tees

What is Badger Hill Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Badger Hill Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Badger Hill Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Badger Hill Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Badger Hill Academy have?

Badger Hill Academy has 138 pupils on roll.

What age range does Badger Hill Academy cover?

Badger Hill Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Badger Hill Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 85% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Badger Hill Academy?

Badger Hill Academy is at Marston Road, Kilton Lane, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, TS12 2XR.