South Otterington Church of England Primary School

South Otterington Church of England Primary School is a welcoming, caring primary school where pupils feel safe, valued and part of a family-like community. Inspectors found high ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and a broad, well-considered curriculum that has recently been improved. Pupils behave well, achieve well in most subjects and benefit from a strong reading culture, effective phonics teaching and a nurturing early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection and its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it is part of the Dales Academies Trust and provides nursery education for two- and three-year-olds.

Strengths

• Welcoming and caring school where pupils feel safe and valued
• High ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Broad and ambitious curriculum recently improved across the school
• Pupils behave well and show kindness and respect
• Strong reading culture with expert phonics teaching
• Pupils with SEND are promptly identified and receive tailored support
• Engaging and nurturing early years provision
• Pupils benefit from leadership roles and wider opportunities
• Strong sense of citizenship and spirituality through fundraising and school values
• Committed leaders and governance with well-supported staff
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils are not given enough opportunities to apply mathematical knowledge to problem-solving and reasoning
• In some wider curriculum subjects, important knowledge has not yet been clearly identified for teachers

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 Otterington Church of England Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.1% 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 South Otterington Church of England Primary School 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 Otterington Church of England Primary School had 27.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.4% 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, 13.8% of pupils at South Otterington Church of England Primary School 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 2024–25 South Otterington Church of England Primary School received £8,516 and spent £9,274 for each of its 90 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £110,000 (£1,229 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Dales Academies Trust, income was £7,522 and spending £7,432 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 Northallerton · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

South Otterington Church of England Primary School is part of Dales Academies Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Ainderby Steeple Church of England Primary School Northallerton
• Oakbridge Church of England Primary School Northallerton
• East Cowton Church of England Primary School Northallerton
• Great Smeaton Academy Primary School Northallerton
• Carnagill Community Primary School Catterick Garrison
• Middleton Tyas Church of England Primary School Richmond
• Croft Church of England Primary School Darlington
• Trinity Academy Richmond Richmond
• Barton Church of England Primary School Richmond
• All Saints Church of England Academy Stockton-On-Tees

What is South Otterington Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Otterington Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was South Otterington Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

South Otterington Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does South Otterington Church of England Primary School have?

South Otterington Church of England Primary School has 109 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Otterington Church of England Primary School cover?

South Otterington Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are South Otterington Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is South Otterington Church of England Primary School?

South Otterington Church of England Primary School is at South Otterington, South Otterington C of E Primary School, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 9HD.