Newker Primary School
General Information
- Address: Waldridge Road, Chester le Street, DH2 3AA – View on map
- Phone: 01913887099
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Melanie Kirkland
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 96
- % eligible for free school meals: 29.0%
- 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: 9.3% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 63% moved to another school, 37% 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
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: 5.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 12.0%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 14.1%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.5%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 17 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 15 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Physical 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: 69% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 7 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 66% against an expected 63%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 66%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 78% · Maths 78% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 105
- Based on: 59 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 66th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =63St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton70%
- =66Deaf Hill Primary School69%
- =66Newker Primary School69%
- =66St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Crook69%
- =69Ropery Walk Primary School68%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
58th of 134 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #56Neville's Cross Primary School and NurseryGood
- #57New Seaham AcademyGood
- #58Newker Primary SchoolGood
- #59North Park Primary SchoolGood
- #60Oakley Cross Primary School and NurseryGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,729 (2024-25)
145th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #143Shotley Bridge Primary School£6,751
- #144Hartside Primary Academy£6,738
- #145Newker Primary School£6,729
- #146St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Seaham£6,682
- #147Tanfield Lea Community Primary School£6,681
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)