NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School is a good school across all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, following its opening in 2021 after de-amalgamation, and it is part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust. Inspectors found a school with strong community links, a clear Christian vision and high expectations that begin in the two-year-old provision. Pupils achieve well through an ambitious curriculum, positive relationships and effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Strengths

• Strong community links and a Christian vision focused on nurturing pupils
• High expectations from the two-year-old provision through to Year 6
• Ambitious curriculum that meets pupils' needs and helps them achieve well
• Clear behaviour rules and good pupil behaviour
• Effective SEND strategies, including calm-space support for transitions
• Positive and respectful relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils feel safe and learn how to stay safe in the local area
• Careers education that challenges gender inequality and links learning to future work
• Trust-defined curriculum builds knowledge in small steps and encourages deep thinking
• Strong focus on communication and language from the two-year-old provision
• Effective phonics teaching with strong support for pupils who fall behind
• Good subject knowledge among teachers, including for pupils with SEND
• Whole-school approach to healthy relationships
• Wide opportunities including music, trust sporting events, Mandarin and French
• Effective trust support and knowledgeable, proactive governors
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Systems for checking how well some subjects are taught are not fully developed
• The school has limited opportunities to monitor teaching quality in some subjects
• Assessment in some subjects does not identify gaps in pupils' knowledge well enough
• The school is working to improve sustained progress in arithmetic so more pupils reach the expected standard in mathematics at the end of key stage 2

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 NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.0% 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, 1.4% of pupils at NCEA James Knott CofE 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 NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 34.3% of pupils at NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.6% 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 NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School received £7,372 and spent £7,201 for each of its 207 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £44,000 (£215 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, income was £9,125 and spending £8,946 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 Ashington · Northumberland local authority: places and applications

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School is part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• NCEA Bishop's Primary School Ashington
• NCEA Thomas Bewick C of E Primary School Ashington
• NCEA Duke's Secondary School Ashington
• NCEA Castle School Ashington
• NCEA Grace Darling CofE Primary School Newbiggin-By-The-Sea
• NCEA William Leech CofE Primary School Morpeth
• NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary School Morpeth
• Ncea Harry Hotspur Church of England Primary School Alnwick

What is NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School have?

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School cover?

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School?

NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School is at Norham Road, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 0LF.