North Park Primary School
General Information
- Address: Bessemer Green, Spennymoor, DL16 6PP – View on map
- Phone: 01388815943
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Miss Emma Roffe
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 17 families put it first for 17 places – 10 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 11 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 147
- % eligible for free school meals: 65.9%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 16.3% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 41% moved to another school, 59% 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: 7.1%
- Persistently absent pupils: 24.8%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 29.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.9%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 20 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 18 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
- Physical disability: 5 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 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: 56% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 6 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 40% against an expected 51%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 40%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 72% · Writing 66% · Maths 63% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 56%
- Average test scores: reading 104, maths 103
- Based on: 32 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 123rd of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =117South Hetton Primary57%
- =117Yohden Primary School57%
- =123North Park Primary School56%
- =123Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery56%
- =123Stanhope Barrington CofE Primary School56%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
61st of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #59New Seaham AcademyGood
- #60Newker Primary SchoolGood
- #61North Park Primary SchoolGood
- #62Oakley Cross Primary School and NurseryGood
- #63Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,467 (2024-25)
66th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #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
- #68Cotsford Primary School£8,452
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)