SCHOOL PROFILE

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School

Primary Voluntary controlled school URN 114216
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 203 Published school capacity
Capacity used 104.9% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

1 February 2024
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

28 September 2022
Ungraded inspection School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published 13 November 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary controlled school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority County Durham
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 213 204 full-time · 9 part-time
Female pupils 92 43.2% of pupils
Male pupils 121 56.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

31.0%
6.2 pts above England
School 31.0%
County Durham 32.2%
North East 32.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

3.8%
16.5 pts below England
School 3.8%
County Durham 4.7%
North East 10.0%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.5%
0.5 pts below England
School 0.5%
County Durham 0.5%
North East 0.9%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
88.3%
188
Indian
2.8%
6
White and Black African
2.8%
6
African
2.3%
5
Any other White background
1.4%
3
Any other Mixed background
0.9%
2
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 22.1% 47 of 213 pupils
1.2 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 22.1%
County Durham 22.4%
North East 22.6%
England 20.8%
SEN support 20.2% 43 pupils
England 14.8% 5.4 pts above
EHC plans 1.9% 4 pupils
England 6.0% 4.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Other difficulty or disability 14
Speech, language & communication 14
Social, emotional & mental health 10
Physical disability 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 2
Moderate learning difficulty 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

58.0% 2.4 pts below England
School 58.0%
County Durham 60.4%
North East 61.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

74.0%

0.2 pts above England

School 74.0%
County Durham 73.0%
North East 73.1%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

71.0%

0.7 pts above England

School 71.0%
County Durham 71.9%
North East 71.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

84.0%

12.0 pts above England

School 84.0%
County Durham 72.0%
North East 72.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.75%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.47 pts lower than England
School 5.75%
County Durham 6.04%
North East 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

13.45%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.37 pts lower than England
School 13.45%
County Durham 15.78%
North East 16.04%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.58%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.22 pts lower than England
School 0.58%
County Durham 1.43%
North East 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

104.9% 16.7 pts above England
St Stephen's Church of England Primary School
104.9%
County Durham
83.6%
North East
87.8%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information