Croft Community School, Stanley

Ofsted's report card from its 13 January 2026 inspection grades Croft Community School on 6 areas: 3 expected standard and 3 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders understand the barriers that some pupils face in attending school regularly."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders know their pupils well."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Pupils benefit from a well-thought-through and ordered personal development programme that builds on their knowledge over time."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils do not consistently develop the depth of knowledge and skills that they need across subjects."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "There are inconsistencies in the teaching of curriculums across the school."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "The school has recently experienced changes to the roles and responsibilities of leaders and to governance arrangements following its move from a federation."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should further improve their knowledge and skills to inform their strategic oversight of the school's work so that they are better placed to bring about swift, effective improvement, particularly with regards to pupils' experiences in learning and their achievement"; "Leaders should ensure that staff deliver curriculums in line with leaders' expectations, in particular in their use of assessment to inform their design of lessons, including in subjects relating to personal development. This is to ensure that pupils are more consistently supported to develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and achieve all that they can"; "Leaders should ensure that staff consider the range of individual needs, including those outlined in pupils' education, health and care plans, when making reasonable adjustments and adaptations to the curriculum so that learning is well matched to pupils' next steps".

In its own words: "“Croft Community School is an Inclusive school, each individual is valued and is given every opportunity to achieve their best in a school where pupil needs are met, enabling social and academic achievement with the highest possible outcomes”."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Croft Community School opened in 2015 in a newly upgraded building. Our pupils attend from across North Durham, with a number from further afield. Today, Croft Community School offers a diverse and enriched curriculum for over 250 pupils, supported by a wide range of accreditation opportunities."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, drama, choir, cooking and gardening.

The school runs after-school care.

The nearest other special schools to Croft Community School are Villa Real School (3 miles, Good); and Learning for Life (3.4 miles, Good).

66 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Croft Community School (as of April 2026): 94% would recommend the school, 89% say their child is happy there and 70% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (70%).

Of the 45 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 71% to a further education college.

58.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 0.6% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.

Almost every pupil at Croft Community School has an education, health and care plan (316 of 316 in 2026). The most common need among them is autism.

Croft Community School provides for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, autism, moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Croft Community School.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is North Road-Carrmyers (se-bound), 140 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Croft Community School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Croft Community School issued 17 suspensions, 5.9 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.