Tanfield Lea Community Primary School
General Information
- Address: Tanfield Lea, Stanley, DH9 9LU – View on map
- Phone: 01207234500
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Mark Temple
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 34 families put it first for 34 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: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 103
- % eligible for free school meals: 34.0%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 11.4% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% 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: 4.1%
- Persistently absent pupils: 5.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 20.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 0.3%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 27 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 18 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card May 2026
Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.
- Safeguarding Met
- Inclusion Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
- Achievement Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
- Early years Strong standard
- Leadership and governance Expected standard
Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 64% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: in line with the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 65% against an expected 60%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 65%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 76% · Writing 69% · Maths 79% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 64%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 104
- 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 90th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =90Shotton Hall Primary School64%
- =90Shotton Primary School64%
- =90Tanfield Lea Community Primary School64%
- =98Byers Green Primary School63%
- =98Chilton Academy63%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,681 (2024-25)
147th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #145Newker Primary School£6,729
- #146St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Seaham£6,682
- #147Tanfield Lea Community Primary School£6,681
- #148Framwellgate Moor Primary School£6,638
- #149Springmoor Grange School£6,634
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)