St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn

South Tyneside · NE31 2BP

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 160 pupils, 21.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 16.3% on SEN support Behaviour 5.3% absence rate Staff 8.8% turnover Financials £7,378 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn

General Information

Address: Solway Road, HEBBURN, NE31 2BP – View on map
Phone: 01914832672
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Francesca Heslop
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 13 families put it first for 14 places – 9 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 9 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

160 pupils out of 210 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 34
% eligible for free school meals: 21.7%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the South Tyneside average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 8.8% a year (South Tyneside 10.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 68% moved to another school, 32% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across South Tyneside: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (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 South Tyneside, 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: 5.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.8%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 16.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 73% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 10 percentage points above the South Tyneside average (63%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 67% against an expected 63%)
3-year average (expected standard): 67%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 90% · Writing 73% · Maths 93% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 77%
Average test scores: reading 109, maths 107
Based on: 30 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

This schoolSouth Tyneside averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 10 percentage points above the South Tyneside average (63%).

Year 6 SATs: 11th of 38 junior and primary schools in the area

#9Hedworth Lane Primary School76%
#10St Mary's Catholic Primary School74%
#11St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn73%
=12Harton Primary School70%
=12St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, South Shields70%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Biddick Hall Junior School87%
#2Stanhope Primary School86%
=3St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow82%
=3West Boldon Primary School82%
#5East Boldon Junior School81%
#6Cleadon Church of England Academy79%
=7SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, South Shields77%
=7St Bede's Catholic Primary School, South Shields77%
#9Hedworth Lane Primary School76%
#10St Mary's Catholic Primary School74%
#11St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn73%
=12Harton Primary School70%
=12St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, South Shields70%
=12Valley View Primary School70%
=15Lord Blyton Primary School68%
=15St Aloysius Catholic Junior School Academy68%
=15St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields68%
=18Forest View Primary67%
=18Marsden Primary School67%
#20St Oswald's CofE Aided Primary School66%
=21Jarrow Cross CofE Primary School65%
=21Laygate Community School65%
=23Sea View Primary School64%
=23Westoe Crown Primary School64%
#25Holy Trinity Church of England Academy (South Shields)62%
#26Hedworthfield Primary School60%
#27Toner Avenue Primary School57%
#28Hadrian Primary School56%
=29Bede Burn Primary School54%
=29Fellgate Primary School54%
=29Mortimer Primary School54%
#32Ridgeway Primary Academy51%
#33St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow50%
#34St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow48%
#35Ashley Academy45%
#36Simonside Primary School37%
#37Hebburn Lakes Primary School31%
#38Monkton Academy28%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,378 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

18th of 37 primary schools in South Tyneside for spending per pupil

#16Marsden Primary School£7,420
#17Hadrian Primary School£7,404
#18St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn£7,378
#19St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, South Shields£7,200
#20St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields£6,876

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Fellgate Primary School£11,883
#2Hedworthfield Primary School£10,715
#3Lord Blyton Primary School£9,150
#4West Boldon Primary School£8,724
#5Simonside Primary School£8,561
#6Laygate Community School£8,471
#7Sea View Primary School£8,227
#8Ridgeway Primary Academy£7,936
#9St Oswald's CofE Aided Primary School£7,892
#10Forest View Primary£7,782
#11Stanhope Primary School£7,738
#12Jarrow Cross CofE Primary School£7,501
#13Holy Trinity Church of England Academy (South Shields)£7,501
#14Hebburn Lakes Primary School£7,456
#15St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow£7,431
#16Marsden Primary School£7,420
#17Hadrian Primary School£7,404
#18St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn£7,378
#19St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, South Shields£7,200
#20St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields£6,876
#21Harton Primary School£6,862
#22Ashley Academy£6,807
#23SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, South Shields£6,694
#24St Mary's Catholic Primary School£6,655
#25Valley View Primary School£6,561
#26Bede Burn Primary School£6,447
#27Hedworth Lane Primary School£6,389
#28Dunn Street Primary School£6,385
#29St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow£6,356
#30Toner Avenue Primary School£6,222
#31St Bede's Catholic Primary School, South Shields£6,044
#32St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow£5,976
#33Cleadon Church of England Academy£5,963
#34Westoe Crown Primary School£5,955
#35Mortimer Primary School£5,610
#36Marine Park Primary School£5,598
#37Whitburn Village Primary School£4,805

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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