Ouston Primary School
General Information
- Address: Arisaig, Ouston, Chester le Street, DH2 1RQ – View on map
- Phone: 01914102599
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs L Lavelle
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 31 families put it first for 31 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 31 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 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: 37
- % eligible for free school meals: 14.7%
- Pupil mix: 0 in 10 (less mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 5.8% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 56% moved to another school, 44% 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: 4.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 8.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 16.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 0.4%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 24 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 5 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card June 2026
Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.
- Safeguarding Met
- Inclusion Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
- Achievement Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
- Early years Expected standard
- Leadership and governance Expected standard
Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 54% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 19% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 8 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 55% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 55%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 73% · Writing 62% · Maths 62% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 62%
- Average test scores: reading 106, maths 104
- Based on: 26 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 129th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =129Cockton Hill Junior School54%
- =129East Stanley School54%
- =129Ouston Primary School54%
- =129Seaham Trinity Primary School54%
- =129Thornley Academy54%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,083 (2024-25)
171st of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #169Browney Primary Academy£6,158
- #170Vane Road Primary School£6,092
- #171Ouston Primary School£6,083
- #172Woodlea Primary School£6,064
- #173Cestria Primary School£6,044
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)