Trinity Academy New Bridge

Trinity Academy New Bridge is a special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, all of whom have an education, health and care plan, and it remains a school where significant improvement work is still being embedded. Inspectors found that most pupils who attend regularly feel happy and safe and value their relationships with staff, while personal development is a notable strength. The school offers a wide range of trips, new activities and therapeutic support that help pupils build confidence and manage emotions, and its careers programme is well developed. Safeguarding is effective. However, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management require improvement. Too many pupils do not attend often enough, which creates significant gaps in knowledge and basic skills, including English and mathematics, and limits achievement in nationally recognised qualifications. Curriculum design and teaching have begun to improve, but practice is inconsistent: some tasks are too easy, not aligned to curriculum aims, or set lower expectations for some pupils. Reading support is improving but is not yet available consistently enough for every pupil who needs it. Leadership has stabilised recently, and staff say support is improving, with a clear and ambitious vision for the future. Many leaders are new or in the early stages of implementing changes, so the impact of recent initiatives has not yet been fully evaluated. The school is working to improve attendance and has rebuilt some relationships with parents and the community, but these efforts are at an early stage and barriers remain.

Strengths

• Personal development is good, with a broad range of cultural experiences and trips that build pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.
• Focused therapeutic activities such as mindfulness and gardening therapy help pupils manage their emotions and develop useful coping strategies.
• The school has a coordinated approach to identifying and supporting pupils’ complex social, emotional and mental health needs.
• A comprehensive careers programme, including local business partnerships and careers education embedded in the curriculum, broadens pupils’ horizons.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Most pupils who attend regularly are happy and safe and speak positively about their relationships with staff.
• Staff respond to occasional disruption with skill and kindness.
• Recent work has begun to strengthen curriculum design and teaching, and many pupils speak positively about their learning.
• Staff feel well supported and value the trust’s well-being initiatives.
• Recent leadership stability is helping rebuild relationships with parents and the wider community.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils do not attend school often enough, leading to significant gaps in knowledge and skills.
• Low attendance limits pupils’ achievement, including opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications.
• Teaching is inconsistent, with some tasks too easy, not building on prior knowledge, or not aligned with curriculum aims.
• In some subjects, different curriculum goals for different pupils reduce ambition and limit what some pupils can achieve.
• Reading support is not yet built up enough to help every pupil who needs to become fluent and confident readers.
• Pupils have notable gaps in basic skills, including English and mathematics, and struggle to apply them.
• Some pupils lack motivation and engagement in lessons.
• Many leaders are new or implementing changes, so there has been limited evaluation of the impact of recent initiatives.
• The school has struggled over time to maintain a positive reputation with stakeholders, and many changes are still at an early stage.

In 2024–25 pupils at Trinity Academy New Bridge attended 50.6% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 81.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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, 45.9% of pupils at Trinity Academy New Bridge were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). 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 Trinity Academy New Bridge had 8.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

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 Trinity Academy New Bridge had 128 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: social, emotional and mental health; speech, language and communication needs; autistic spectrum disorder; other difficulty or disability.

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Trinity Academy New Bridge received £20,412 and spent £21,377 for each of its 133 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,798,000 (£13,518 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Trinity Academy Newcastle, income was £24,525 and spending £19,994 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

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Trinity Academy New Bridge is part of Trinity Academy Newcastle, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Trinity Academy Newcastle Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Trinity Solutions Academy Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What is Trinity Academy New Bridge's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Trinity Academy New Bridge is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Trinity Academy New Bridge last inspected by Ofsted?

Trinity Academy New Bridge was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Trinity Academy New Bridge have?

Trinity Academy New Bridge has 128 pupils on roll.

What age range does Trinity Academy New Bridge cover?

Trinity Academy New Bridge for pupils aged 11 to 19.

Where is Trinity Academy New Bridge?

Trinity Academy New Bridge is at Craigshaw Road, Sunderland, SR5 3NF.