Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School, Chester le Street

Good
Primary
Voluntary controlled school
Mixed
Church of England
Ages 011

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~816m)Possible (~1.2km)Unlikely (~1.5km)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Rachel Butler
Pupils:260 / 418 capacity
LA:County Durham
Phone:01913882328
Address:Hilda Park, Chester le Street, DH2 2JT
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 9 months ago
Good

Overall

Requires Improvement

Quality of Education

Requires Improvement

Behaviour & Attitudes

Requires Improvement

Personal Development

Requires Improvement

Leadership & Management

Requires Improvement

Early Years

Inspected 9 December 2025View full report
URN:114213
UKPRN:10073792
Diocese:Diocese of Durham
Constituency:North Durham
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

The school is a caring, inclusive place where all children feel valued and safe. Staff provide excellent support for children with additional needs and disadvantaged pupils, enabling them to access learning successfully. The newly improved early years provision is already helping children arrive in Year 1 better prepared for learning.

Key Strengths

  • Warm, welcoming atmosphere where pupils feel safe and behaviour is typically positive
  • Strong inclusive approach ensuring disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND receive effective, tailored support
  • Well-developed early years provision helping children get off to a flying start
  • Comprehensive personal development programme woven through the curriculum
  • Effective pastoral care and attendance strategies, particularly for disadvantaged pupils

Areas for Improvement

  • Too many pupils not achieving expected standard in phonics screening check
  • Significant minority of pupils have gaps in reading, with older pupils not getting enough support to develop fluency
  • Weak progress in writing, grammar, punctuation, handwriting and spelling across the school
  • Some pupils with learning gaps not receiving adequate support to catch up with peers
  • Some parents feel their concerns are not addressed quickly enough

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Theatre trips, visits to local places of interest, visits to London, local church visits, art and music activities

Chester-Le-Street CofE Primary School is an inclusive school where leaders prioritise pastoral care and have recently redesigned the curriculum to help pupils know and remember more. However, achievement in reading and writing needs improvement, with too many pupils not meeting expected standards.

At a Glance

23.7%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+12ppMaths+23ppWriting+5pp

Reading has improved from 59% to 71%. Maths has improved from 51% to 74%. Writing has improved from 71% to 76%.

Class Sizes

20.8

Avg class size

29.0

Infant (KS1)

25.4

KS2

11

Total classes

1 class with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Glen Barr (SW-bound)
128m · 2 min walk
Corkershop (NW-bound)
143m · 2 min walk
Pelaw Crescent - Conyers Ave (SE-bound)
181m · 3 min walk
Pelaw Square - The Close (NE-bound)
194m · 3 min walk
Conyers Avenue - Myrtle Avenue (NE-bound)
238m · 4 min walk
Can you get into this school?
Enter your postcode to find out

Commute Calculator

Find out if this school is reachable from your home - before you apply

Sign up free to see your commute to this school

What are my chances?

Enter your postcode to estimate your probability of getting a place.

Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

62%

Available places

260 pupils

418 capacity

158 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Chester le Street

Low pressure
New homes approved:452
Projected new pupils:113

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Chester le Street

Admissions Demand - County Durham

Low demand0.68x oversubscription

Places available

6,592

Applications

4,491

Got 1st preference

96.4%

Got preferred school

99.2%

Primary admissions across County Durham (2025/26)

Inspection History(6)

9 December 2025
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesRequires Improvement
Personal DevelopmentRequires Improvement
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement
Early YearsRequires Improvement
14 September 2021
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
7 December 2017
Requires ImprovementReport
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement

House Prices

Moving into the catchment? See what homes near this school actually cost

Sign up free to see house prices near this school

SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

Sign up free to see special needs support at this school

Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

Sign up free to see who goes to this school

Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

Sign up free to see teacher and staff data

School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

Sign up free to see how this school is funded

Pupil Absence
2024/25

6.55893%

Overall absence

14.28571%

Persistent absence

210

Enrolments

Authorised4.35054%
Unauthorised2.20839%
Persistent (10%+)14.28571%
Severe (50%+)2.38095%

Absence trend

3.86462%
18/19
2.9598%
20/21
6.72998%
21/22
6.61836%
22/23
5.75207%
23/24
6.55893%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

Reviews

No reviews yet - be the first to leave one.

Leave a Review

You need to be signed in to leave a review.

Secondary Schools Nearby

Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to

Nearby Schools

Do you work at this school?

Claim your profile free to get a verified badge, update your contact details, and see how many parents are viewing your page.