Dinnington First School

Newcastle upon Tyne · NE13 7JY

General information Primary School · 3-9 years Who goes here 320 pupils, 14.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 14.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.2% absence rate Staff 6.7% turnover Financials £6,300 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Dinnington First School

General Information

Address: Sycamore Avenue, Dinnington Village, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE13 7JY – View on map
Phone: 01661822457
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Caroline Ash
Age range: 3-9 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 59 families put it first for 60 places – 10 for every 10 places. 90% of them were offered a place. 13 of the 60 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Multi-faith
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

320 pupils out of 333 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 47
% eligible for free school meals: 14.8%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Newcastle upon Tyne average)
English as an additional language: 10% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.7% a year (Newcastle upon Tyne 12.3%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 24% moved to another school, 76% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Newcastle upon Tyne: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 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 Newcastle upon Tyne, 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: 4.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 8.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 14.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 14 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card January 2026

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 Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Strong 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.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results for this school haven't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,300 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

60th of 72 primary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for spending per pupil

#58Sacred Heart Primary School£6,372
#59Ravenswood Primary School£6,339
#60Dinnington First School£6,300
#61Westerhope Primary School£6,248
#62West Jesmond Primary School£6,173

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Christ Church CofE Primary School£9,166
#2Lemington Riverside Primary School£9,000
#3Hawthorn Primary School£8,914
#4St Catherine's Catholic Primary School£8,902
#5Byker Primary School£8,767
#6St George's Catholic Primary School, Bells Close£8,693
#7St Johns Primary School£8,639
#8Atkinson Road Primary Academy£8,627
#9Walbottle Village Primary School£8,460
#10St Paul's CofE Primary School£8,395
#11Bridgewater Primary School£8,371
#12St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School£8,298
#13North Fawdon Primary School£8,278
#14Tyneview Primary School£8,128
#15Thomas Walling Primary Academy£8,062
#16Moorside Primary School£7,917
#17Cheviot Primary School£7,907
#18Broadwood Primary School£7,889
#19St Michael's Catholic Primary School£7,813
#20West Walker Primary School£7,769
#21Welbeck Academy£7,762
#22Central Walker Church of England Primary School£7,735
#23Canning Street Primary School£7,734
#24St Vincents Catholic Primary School, Newcastle£7,608
#25Wingrove Primary School£7,576
#26Kenton Bar Primary School£7,422
#27St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Walker£7,395
#28St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School£7,390
#29Simonside Primary School£7,377
#30Archbishop Runcie CofE First School£7,360
#31West Newcastle Academy£7,305
#32St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell£7,271
#33Walkergate Community School£7,243
#34Mountfield Primary School£7,227
#35English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Fenham£7,099
#36Chillingham Road Primary School£7,093
#37Hotspur Primary School£7,089
#38St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Kenton£7,009
#39Archibald First School£6,954
#40Our Lady and St Anne's Catholic Primary School£6,917
#41Newburn Manor Primary School£6,867
#42Wyndham Primary School£6,849
#43West Denton Primary School£6,814
#44Grange First School£6,785
#45St Mark's Catholic Primary School, Westerhope£6,784
#46Beech Hill Primary School£6,747
#47Westgate Hill Primary Academy£6,676
#48Waverley Primary School£6,591
#49St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Heaton£6,524
#50Hilton Primary Academy£6,485
#51Regent Farm First School£6,480
#52Kingston Park Primary School£6,461
#53St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Newcastle£6,417
#54Milecastle Primary School£6,410
#55Stocksfield Avenue Primary School£6,408
#56Farne Primary School£6,404
#57Throckley Primary School£6,392
#58Sacred Heart Primary School£6,372
#59Ravenswood Primary School£6,339
#60Dinnington First School£6,300
#61Westerhope Primary School£6,248
#62West Jesmond Primary School£6,173
#63Cragside Primary School£6,037
#64Benton Park Primary School£5,995
#65Brunton First School£5,986
#66Knop Law Primary School£5,855
#67Gosforth Park First School£5,849
#68St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Gosforth£5,844
#69St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, West Denton£5,803
#70South Gosforth First School£5,758
#71St Charles' Catholic Primary School£5,651
#72Havannah First School£5,502

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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