St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village
General Information
- Address: Esh Village, Durham, DH7 9QY – View on map
- Phone: 01913731205
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Christina Parker
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 23 families put it first for 23 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 9 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 27
- % eligible for free school meals: 13.9%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 12.3% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
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: 6.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 12.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.0%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 81% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 19 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 70% against an expected 66%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 70%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 95% · Writing 86% · Maths 90% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 95%
- Average test scores: reading 110, maths 107
- Based on: 21 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 20th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =20Red Rose Primary School81%
- =20St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle81%
- =20St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village81%
- #23Nettlesworth Primary School80%
- #24Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary School79%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
106th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #104St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South MoorGood
- #105St Marys Catholic Primary School, WingateGood
- #106St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh VillageGood
- #107St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
- #108St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, DiptonGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,210 (2024-25)
167th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #165Montalbo Nursery & Primary School£6,309
- #166St Godric's Catholic Primary School, Durham£6,267
- #167St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village£6,210
- #168Shincliffe CofE (Controlled) Primary School£6,191
- #169Browney Primary Academy£6,158
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)