New Brancepeth Primary Academy

New Brancepeth Primary Academy is a small, nurturing school with big ambitions and a strong sense of belonging. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is part of the Advance Learning Partnership; its predecessor school had been judged as requiring improvement. Inspectors found the school performing well overall, with good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision, while leadership and management were outstanding. The curriculum has recently been improved with expert trust support, reading and phonics are strong, pupils with SEND learn well, and personal development is a notable strength. Pupils feel happy and safe, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and attendance has improved after being low since the pandemic. The main area for further work is curriculum implementation. Some subjects are less securely implemented than others, and some pupils find it harder to recall and connect knowledge because of the legacy of the old curriculum and previous gaps in their learning. Leaders are already taking effective action, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Overall, this is a school with strong leadership, a caring ethos and clear capacity to continue improving.

Strengths

• A small, nurturing school with a strong sense of belonging for pupils and staff
• An ambitious curriculum that builds well on pupils’ prior learning, including in mixed-age classes
• Language and vocabulary development are prioritised across the school
• Reading and phonics are strong, with a well-developed library and enthusiastic readers
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well to learn alongside their classmates
• Personal development is a strength, with a programme well suited to the school’s context
• Leadership and management are exceptional, with highly effective trust challenge and support
• Staff feel valued and supported, including through workload and well-being initiatives
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of enrichment, clubs, visits and pupil passports
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, and pupils feel happy and safe
• Attendance has improved following recent school actions
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some areas of the curriculum are less securely implemented than others
• Some pupils find it difficult to recall and connect knowledge in those subjects
• Previous gaps in pupils’ knowledge and the legacy of the old curriculum continue to affect some learning

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 New Brancepeth Primary Academy attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.9% 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, 1.6% of pupils at New Brancepeth Primary Academy 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 New Brancepeth Primary Academy had 15.7 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, 26.6% of pupils at New Brancepeth Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.2% 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 New Brancepeth Primary Academy received £8,881 and spent £8,854 for each of its 120 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £105,000 (£875 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Advance Learning Partnership, income was £8,477 and spending £8,506 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 Durham · County Durham local authority: places and applications

New Brancepeth Primary Academy is part of Advance Learning Partnership, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Durham Academy Durham
• Brandon Primary Academy Durham
• Parkside Academy Crook
• Edmondsley Primary Academy Durham
• Peases West Academy Crook
• Whitworth Park Academy Spennymoor
• Hartside Primary Academy Crook
• Middlestone Moor Academy Durham
• Bowburn Primary School Bowburn
• Hunwick Primary School Crook

What is New Brancepeth Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for New Brancepeth Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was New Brancepeth Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

New Brancepeth Primary Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does New Brancepeth Primary Academy have?

New Brancepeth Primary Academy has 109 pupils on roll.

What age range does New Brancepeth Primary Academy cover?

New Brancepeth Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are New Brancepeth Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is New Brancepeth Primary Academy?

New Brancepeth Primary Academy is at Rock Terrace, New Brancepeth, Durham, DH7 7EU.