Etherley Lane Primary School
General Information
- Address: Clarence Gardens, Etherley Lane, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7RB – View on map
- Phone: 01388603105
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Kelly Ann Lee
- Age range: 4-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 17 families put it first for 18 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 8 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 83
- % eligible for free school meals: 43.7%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 7% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 15.3% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% 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: 6.0%
- Persistently absent pupils: 18.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 23.7%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.3%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 14 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
- Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
- Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2020 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 65% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 3 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 62% against an expected 60%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 62%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 73% · Writing 75% · Maths 75% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 60%
- Average test scores: reading 102, maths 101
- Based on: 40 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 84th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =84Bournmoor Primary School65%
- =84Easington CofE Primary School65%
- =84Etherley Lane Primary School65%
- =84Pittington Primary School65%
- =84Shield Row Primary School65%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
40th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #38Esh CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolGood
- #39Esh Winning AcademyGood
- #40Etherley Lane Primary SchoolGood
- #41Ferryhill Station Primary SchoolGood
- #42Finchale Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,493 (2024-25)
65th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #63New Brancepeth Primary Academy£8,575
- #64St Thomas More Primary School, Belmont£8,505
- #65Etherley Lane Primary School£8,493
- #66North Park Primary School£8,467
- #67St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon£8,467
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)