Howletch Lane Primary School
General Information
- Address: Pennine Drive, County Durham, Peterlee, SR8 2NQ – View on map
- Phone: 01915862765
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Helen Beattie
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 38 families put it first for 38 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 38 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- 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: 34.2%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 19.1% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 43% moved to another school, 57% 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: 7.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 21.3%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- Resourced provision for Other needs 12 places · 12 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: 30.1%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.2%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 48 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 41 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 44% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 18 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 34% against an expected 55%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 34%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 58% · Writing 65% · Maths 56% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 58%
- Average test scores: reading 102, maths 100
- Based on: 52 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: 161st of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =159Bishop Ian Ramsey CofE Primary School45%
- =159Fishburn Primary School45%
- #161Howletch Lane Primary School44%
- =162Castleside Primary School43%
- =162Moorside Primary Academy43%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
48th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #46Hamsterley Primary SchoolGood
- #47Hartside Primary AcademyGood
- #48Howletch Lane Primary SchoolGood
- #49Hunwick Primary SchoolGood
- #50Hutton Henry CofE (Controlled) Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,352 (2024-25)
115th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #113Wolsingham Primary School£7,383
- #114Edmondsley Primary Academy£7,372
- #115Howletch Lane Primary School£7,352
- #116The Grove Primary School£7,306
- #117St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Bishop Auckland£7,270
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)