St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils achieve well and are well prepared for their next stage of learning. Inspectors found an ambitious, refreshed curriculum, strong reading and phonics provision, effective support for pupils with SEND, positive behaviour, and a broad personal development offer. Early years provision and leadership and management were also found to be strong, with staff feeling valued and the trust supporting improvement well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive culture where staff know pupils well
• Ambitious curriculum that builds learning from Nursery to Year 6
• Pupils achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of education
• Strong reading and phonics provision, including support for pupils who struggle
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, with useful external professional advice
• Positive behaviour and attitudes, with pupils showing pride in their work
• Early years children learn routines and concentrate well
• Wide range of extra-curricular clubs and experiences, including business club
• Personal development promoted through buddies, eco club and visits to places of worship
• Trust and governance support the school well, and staff feel valued

Areas for Improvement

• No consistent approach to helping pupils catch up when they have gaps in knowledge from missed lessons
• Some pupils use derogatory, homophobic language during social times and do not understand that it should be reported
• Some protected characteristics are not as well understood by pupils because parts of the personal development curriculum are new

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 St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.8% 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, 1.6% of pupils at St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton 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 St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.1% 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, 22.5% of pupils at St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% 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 St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton received £7,651 and spent £7,751 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £260,000 (£1,408 per pupil).

Across all 46 schools of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,708 and spending £7,760 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 Gateshead · Gateshead local authority: places and applications

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton is part of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead Gateshead
• St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Harlow Green Gateshead
• St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Low Fell Gateshead
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Gateshead
• St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, Birtley Chester Le Street
• St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Gateshead
• Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Gateshead
• St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Washington Washington
• St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Pelaw Gateshead
• St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington Washington

What is St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton last inspected by Ofsted?

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton have?

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton has 191 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton cover?

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton?

St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton is at Easington Avenue, Wrekenton, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE9 7LH.