Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School
General Information
- Address: Stephenson Way, Newton Aycliffe, DL5 7DD – View on map
- Phone: 01325300324
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Kim Bushby
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 26 families put it first for 27 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 8 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: None
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 182
- % eligible for free school meals: 67.9%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (more mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 12.6% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 83% moved to another school, 17% 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.
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: 8.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 30.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 27.4%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.4%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 30 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 27 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
- Physical disability: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 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: 29% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 33 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 32% against an expected 52%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 32%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 48% · Writing 55% · Maths 48% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 52%
- Average test scores: reading 100, maths 99
- Based on: 42 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 177th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =177Beamish Primary School29%
- =177Butterknowle Primary School29%
- =177Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School29%
- #180St Francis Horndale CofE Primary School25%
- #181St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor22%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
115th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #113Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary SchoolGood
- #114Stanley (Crook) Primary SchoolGood
- #115Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery SchoolGood
- #116Sunnybrow Primary SchoolGood
- #117The Grove Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,896 (2024-25)
87th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #85Deaf Hill Primary School£7,912
- #86Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School£7,906
- #87Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School£7,896
- #88Broom Cottages Primary & Nursery School£7,894
- #89West Cornforth Primary School£7,879
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)