Crooksbarn Primary School

Crooksbarn Primary School is a warm, caring and inclusive school where pupils feel happy, safe and valued. This inspection found the school to be good across all key judgements, a significant improvement from its previous requires improvement grade. Leaders are highly ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school benefits from strong support from the Ad Astra Academy Trust. Pupils learn and remember the curriculum well. The curriculum is carefully designed to build knowledge over time, and phonics and reading are particular strengths. Staff identify pupils with SEND quickly and provide well-tailored support. Behaviour is calm and purposeful, pupils are polite and respectful, and personal development is strong, with good pastoral care and a wide range of opportunities. Early years provision is also effective, with a focus on communication and language and independent learning. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are the consistency of learning activities and writing. In some subjects, tasks do not consistently deepen pupils’ knowledge once key content has been learned. The writing curriculum is not implemented consistently across year groups, and a small number of pupils do not present their work well or write accurately and at length. The school is well placed to address these points, with staff feeling well supported and trust support helping leaders to improve provision.

Strengths

• Warm, caring and inclusive atmosphere where pupils feel happy, safe and valued
• High ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Curriculum carefully designed to build knowledge over time
• Pupils learn and remember the curriculum well
• Strong phonics teaching and reading provision
• Effective early identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Calm and purposeful behaviour with clear routines
• Strong personal development and high-quality pastoral care
• Effective early years provision focused on communication and language
• Trust support has strengthened leadership and staff confidence
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some learning activities do not consistently deepen pupils’ knowledge across subjects
• Writing curriculum is not implemented consistently across year groups
• Some pupils’ written work lacks pride and sustained progress in writing
• A small number of pupils do not present work consistently well or write accurately and at length

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 Crooksbarn Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.9% 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 Crooksbarn 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 Crooksbarn Primary School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.7% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Crooksbarn Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Crooksbarn Primary School received £6,097 and spent £6,345 for each of its 292 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £89,000 (-£304 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Ad Astra Academy Trust, income was £7,778 and spending £7,741 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 Stockton-On-Tees · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

Crooksbarn Primary School is part of Ad Astra Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Rosebrook Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Ayresome Primary School Middlesbrough
• Sunnyside Academy Middlesbrough
• West Park Primary School Hartlepool
• Brougham Primary School Hartlepool
• West View Primary School Hartlepool
• Barnard Grove Primary School Hartlepool
• Deaf Hill Primary School Trimdon Station
• Kelloe Primary School Kelloe

What is Crooksbarn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Crooksbarn Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Crooksbarn Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Crooksbarn Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Crooksbarn Primary School have?

Crooksbarn Primary School has 307 pupils on roll.

What age range does Crooksbarn Primary School cover?

Crooksbarn Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Crooksbarn Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Crooksbarn Primary School?

Crooksbarn Primary School is at Petrel Crescent, Crooksbarn Estate, Crooksbarn Primary School, Stockton-on-tees, TS20 1SN.