Sessay Church of England Primary School
General Information
- Address: Sessay, Thirsk, YO7 3NA – View on map
- Phone: 01845501239
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Miss Fiona Bennett
- Age range: 5-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 10 families put it first for 10 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: 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 5
- % eligible for free school meals: 6.3%
- Pupil mix: 0 in 10 (less mixed than the North Yorkshire average)
- English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 0% a year (North Yorkshire 17.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across North Yorkshire: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 11 (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: 2 (0.0 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 North Yorkshire, 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: 3.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 3.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 11.4%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.5%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
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: 27% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 34 percentage points below the North Yorkshire average (61%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 46% against an expected 64%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 46%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 80% · Writing 47% · Maths 53% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 73%
- Average test scores: reading 104, maths 100
- Based on: 15 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 225th of 232 junior and primary schools in the area
- =220Thirsk Community Primary School30%
- #224Egton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School29%
- =225Sessay Church of England Primary School27%
- =225Summerbridge Primary School27%
- #227Carnagill Community Primary School26%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
152nd of 223 primary schools in North Yorkshire for Ofsted rating
- #150Selby Abbey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
- #151Selby Community Primary SchoolGood
- #152Sessay Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #153Settle Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
- #154Settrington All Saints' Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,902 (2024-25)
103rd of 260 primary schools in North Yorkshire for spending per pupil
- #101Harrogate, Grove Road Community Primary School£7,917
- #102Kirby Hill Church of England (VC) Primary School£7,910
- #103Sessay Church of England Primary School£7,902
- #104Lothersdale Primary School£7,886
- #105Kirk Smeaton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£7,877
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)