Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School
General Information
- Address: Hilda Park, Chester le Street, DH2 2JT – View on map
- Phone: 01913882328
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Rachel Butler
- Age range: 0-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 27 families put it first for 27 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 27 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 58
- % eligible for free school meals: 23.7%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 20% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 13% moved to another school, 87% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across County Durham: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in County Durham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 6.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 14.3%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- Resourced provision for AutismModerate learning difficultiesSpecific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) 16 places · 15 pupils at the last count
Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.
- Pupils on SEN Support: 21.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.7%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 20 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 18 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card December 2025
Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.
- Safeguarding Met
- Inclusion Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
- Achievement Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
- Early years Expected standard
- Leadership and governance Expected standard
Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 66% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 5% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 4 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 58% against an expected 59%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 58%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 71% · Writing 76% · Maths 74% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 66%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 104
- Based on: 38 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 82nd of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =71St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Langley Moor67%
- =71St Thomas More Primary School, Belmont67%
- =82Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School66%
- =82St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Newton Aycliffe66%
- =84Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School65%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,928 (2024-25)
83rd of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #81Victoria Lane Academy£7,959
- #82Thornhill Primary School£7,929
- #83Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School£7,928
- #84Delves Lane Primary School£7,918
- #85Deaf Hill Primary School£7,912
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)