Valley Gardens Middle School

General Information

Address: Valley Gardens, Whitley Bay, NE25 9AQ
Phone: 01919176667
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr David Godfrey
Age range: 9-13 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Number of pupils: 768
School capacity: 771
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 46
% eligible for free school meals: 6.0%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 6.2%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 40 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 21 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

–

Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

An Attainment 8 score for this school hasn't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £6,432 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #14 of 14 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#12Wellfield Middle School£6,644
#13Marden Bridge Middle School£6,533
#14Valley Gardens Middle School£6,432

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1Norham High School£10,950
#2Monkseaton High School£9,416
#3John Spence Community High School£9,378
#4Burnside College£9,037
#5North Gosforth Academy£8,924
#6Monkseaton Coastal School£8,036
#7Longbenton High School£7,517
#8George Stephenson High School£7,474
#9Marden High School£7,153
#10St Thomas More Catholic High School£7,130
#11Whitley Bay High School£6,696
#12Wellfield Middle School£6,644
#13Marden Bridge Middle School£6,533
#14Valley Gardens Middle School£6,432

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)