St Stephen's Church of England Primary School
General Information
- Address: Hall Lane, Willington, Crook, DL15 0QH – View on map
- Phone: 01388746426
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Alison Richardson
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 21 families put it first for 21 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 12 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 66
- % eligible for free school meals: 32.4%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 6.2% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% 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: 5.8%
- Persistently absent pupils: 13.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 20.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Other difficulty or disability: 14 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
- Physical disability: 3 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 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: 58% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 13% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 4 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 56% against an expected 60%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 56%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 74% · Writing 71% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 77%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 105
- Based on: 31 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 111th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =111Peases West Academy58%
- =111Springmoor Grange School58%
- =111St Stephen's Church of England Primary School58%
- =111Woodham Burn Community Primary School and Nursery58%
- =117Brandon Primary Academy57%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
110th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #108St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, DiptonGood
- #109St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Langley MoorGood
- #110St Stephen's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #111St Thomas More Primary School, BelmontGood
- #112St William's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,760 (2024-25)
141st of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #139St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Murton£6,805
- #140Green Lane Church of England Primary School£6,796
- #141St Stephen's Church of England Primary School£6,760
- #142Red Rose Primary School£6,758
- #143Shotley Bridge Primary School£6,751
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)