St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton
General Information
- Address: North Road, Dipton, Stanley, DH9 9BB – View on map
- Phone: 01207570316
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Martin Gray
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 14 families put it first for 14 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 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 38
- % eligible for free school meals: 27.0%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 14.7% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 100% moved to another school, 0% 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: 4.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 10.7%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 19.1%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.1%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 11 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 70% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 8 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 76% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 76%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 78% · Writing 74% · Maths 87% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 74%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 106
- Based on: 23 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 63rd of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =63Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy70%
- =63St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon70%
- =63St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton70%
- =66Deaf Hill Primary School69%
- =66Newker Primary School69%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
108th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #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
- #109St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Langley MoorGood
- #110St Stephen's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,645 (2024-25)
99th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #97Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, Willington£7,683
- #98Howden-le-Wear Primary School£7,652
- #99St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton£7,645
- #100Stanley (Crook) Primary School£7,612
- #101Escomb Primary School£7,603
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)