Wheatley Hill Community Primary School
General Information
- Address: Wheatley Hill Primary School, Wheatley Hill, Durham, DH6 3RQ – View on map
- Phone: 01429820594
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Alan Scarr
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 41 families put it first for 41 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 41 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 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: 173
- % eligible for free school meals: 42.5%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 16.5% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 23% moved to another school, 77% 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: 7.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 20.8%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- Resourced provision for Speech, language and communication 10 places · 7 pupils at the last count
Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.
- Pupils on SEN Support: 26.7%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 17.5%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 52 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 35 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 19 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 18 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 68% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 6 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 67% against an expected 47%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 67%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 88% · Writing 68% · Maths 75% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 73%
- Average test scores: reading 107, maths 103
- Based on: 56 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 69th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =66St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Crook69%
- =69Ropery Walk Primary School68%
- =69Wheatley Hill Community Primary School68%
- =71Bloemfontein Primary School67%
- =71Consett Junior School67%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
126th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #124West Rainton Primary SchoolGood
- #125Westlea Primary SchoolGood
- #126Wheatley Hill Community Primary SchoolGood
- #127Willington Primary SchoolGood
- #128Wingate Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £9,384 (2024-25)
44th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #42Durham Gilesgate Primary School£9,472
- #43Bullion Lane Primary School£9,426
- #44Wheatley Hill Community Primary School£9,384
- #45St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Crook£9,369
- #46Nettlesworth Primary School£9,272
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)