Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School
General Information
- Address: Dean Bank, Ferryhill, DL17 8PP – View on map
- Phone: 01740651512
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Craig Brown
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 16 families put it first for 17 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 114
- % eligible for free school meals: 68.3%
- Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 20% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 25.8% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 36% moved to another school, 64% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
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: 21.7%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 11.0%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.3%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Requires improvement 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 52% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 10 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 60% against an expected 51%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 60%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 60% · Writing 60% · Maths 56% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 48%
- Average test scores: reading 100, maths 99
- Based on: 25 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 141st of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =135Witton Gilbert Primary School53%
- =141Crook Primary School52%
- =141Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School52%
- =141Silver Tree Primary School and Nursery52%
- =141St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Consett52%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
134th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #132Woodlea Primary SchoolGood
- #133Yohden Primary SchoolGood
- #134Dean Bank Primary and Nursery SchoolRequires improvement
- #135Fishburn Primary SchoolRequires improvement
- #136Langley Park Primary SchoolRequires improvement
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £9,915 (2024-25)
29th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #27Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate£10,045
- #28Byers Green Primary School£9,961
- #29Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School£9,915
- #30Seascape Primary School£9,890
- #31St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gilesgate£9,864
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)