Whale Hill Primary School

Redcar and Cleveland · TS6 8AD

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 461 pupils, 50% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.2% on SEN support Behaviour 4.8% absence rate Staff 8.7% turnover Financials £6,958 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Whale Hill Primary School

General Information

Address: Sandsend Road, Eston, Middlesbrough, TS6 8AD – View on map
Phone: 01642454339
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Headteacher Sandra Marsden
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 59 families put it first for 62 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 62 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

461 pupils out of 530 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 213
% eligible for free school meals: 50.0%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the Redcar and Cleveland average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 8.7% a year (Redcar and Cleveland 12.3%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 12% moved to another school, 88% 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

About this Behaviour status

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

Across Redcar and Cleveland: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (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 Redcar and Cleveland, 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: 4.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.3%
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

No dedicated Unit or 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.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 23 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card January 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 85% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 17% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 19 percentage points above the Redcar and Cleveland average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 78% against an expected 53%)
3-year average (expected standard): 78%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 93% · Writing 87% · Maths 94% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 94%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 113
Based on: 54 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

This schoolRedcar and Cleveland averageEngland↗ Improving Up 9 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 19 percentage points above the Redcar and Cleveland average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 2nd of 43 junior and primary schools in the area

=2Badger Hill Academy85%
=2Bankfields Primary School85%
=2Whale Hill Primary School85%
=5Handale Primary School82%
=5Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy82%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Newcomen Primary School93%
=2Badger Hill Academy85%
=2Bankfields Primary School85%
=2Whale Hill Primary School85%
=5Handale Primary School82%
=5Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy82%
#7Wheatlands Primary School81%
#8Westgarth Primary School77%
=9St Benedict's Catholic Primary School76%
=9Teesville Academy76%
=11Green Gates Primary School75%
=11Saint Gabriel's Catholic Primary School75%
=13Coatham Church of England Primary School74%
=13Nunthorpe Primary Academy74%
=13Zetland Primary School74%
#16Whitecliffe Academy73%
=17Lingdale Primary School71%
=17Wilton Primary Academy71%
#19John Emmerson Batty Primary School70%
#20St Bede's Catholic Primary School69%
#21Lockwood Primary School68%
#22Saltburn Primary School67%
=23Highcliffe Primary School66%
=23Normanby Primary School66%
=25Caedmon Primary School64%
=25Errington Primary School64%
=25New Marske Primary School64%
=28Ings Farm Primary School62%
=28Skelton Primary School62%
=28St Peter's Church of England Primary School62%
#31Grangetown Primary School58%
#32Lakes Primary School56%
=33Belmont Primary School54%
=33Galley Hill Primary School54%
=33Overfields Primary School54%
#36Hummersea Primary School50%
#37Ormesby Primary School49%
#38Dormanstown Primary Academy48%
#39St Mary's Catholic Primary School44%
=40Riverdale Primary School43%
=40Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy43%
#42St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School41%
#43South Bank Community Primary School30%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,958 (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.

19th of 44 primary schools in Redcar and Cleveland for spending per pupil

#17Green Gates Primary School£7,164
#18Saint Gabriel's Catholic Primary School£6,997
#19Whale Hill Primary School£6,958
#20Lakes Primary School£6,939
#21Handale Primary School£6,935

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.

Rank School Score

#1Whitecliffe Academy£11,444
#2South Bank Community Primary School£10,435
#3Dormanstown Primary Academy£9,602
#4Grangetown Primary School£9,293
#5Lingdale Primary School£9,272
#6Wilton Primary Academy£9,218
#7St Peter's Church of England Primary School£8,331
#8Badger Hill Academy£8,234
#9Westgarth Primary School£8,100
#10Overfields Primary School£8,090
#11Caedmon Primary School£8,038
#12Hummersea Primary School£7,595
#13Errington Primary School£7,325
#14Bankfields Primary School£7,233
#15Highcliffe Primary School£7,181
#16Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy£7,164
#17Green Gates Primary School£7,164
#18Saint Gabriel's Catholic Primary School£6,997
#19Whale Hill Primary School£6,958
#20Lakes Primary School£6,939
#21Handale Primary School£6,935
#22Zetland Primary School£6,929
#23Ormesby Primary School£6,926
#24Newcomen Primary School£6,730
#25Coatham Church of England Primary School£6,725
#26John Emmerson Batty Primary School£6,687
#27Lockwood Primary School£6,672
#28Skelton Primary School£6,627
#29New Marske Primary School£6,555
#30St Mary's Catholic Primary School£6,501
#31St Benedict's Catholic Primary School£6,500
#32Riverdale Primary School£6,379
#33Nunthorpe Primary Academy£6,213
#34St Bede's Catholic Primary School£6,197
#35Teesville Academy£6,083
#36Belmont Primary School£6,056
#37Normanby Primary School£5,970
#38Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy£5,959
#39St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School£5,621
#40Saltburn Primary School£5,579
#41Galley Hill Primary School£5,557
#42Wheatlands Primary School£5,471
#43Ings Farm Primary School£5,409
#44Chaloner Primary School£4,435

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

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