Hamsterley Primary School, Bishop Auckland

Good
Primary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 411

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr Richard Sains
Pupils:36 / 49 capacity
LA:County Durham
Phone:01388488279
Address:Hamsterley Primary School, Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland, DL13 3QF
Federation:Durham Dales Partnership
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Requires Improvement

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Good

Personal Development

Good

Leadership & Management

Inspected 8 July 2025View full report
URN:114053
UKPRN:10072175
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Bishop Auckland
Urban/Rural:Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Hamsterley Primary creates a happy, caring environment where every child feels valued and safe. The school has excellent relationships between pupils, staff and parents, and does outstanding work helping pupils understand values like equality, respect and democracy. Older children naturally support younger ones, and all pupils are eager to attend school.

Key Strengths

  • Warm, nurturing environment where pupils thrive and feel safe
  • Pupils' behaviour is calm and orderly, with older pupils acting as positive role models
  • Strong development of pupils' wider learning including excellent understanding of British values, democracy and respect for difference
  • Swift identification and tailored support for pupils with SEND who make positive progress
  • Significantly improved pupil attendance with children eager to come to school

Areas for Improvement

  • Errors and misconceptions in reading and phonics lessons are not identified accurately enough, preventing pupils from catching up swiftly
  • Teaching in some wider curriculum subjects does not ensure knowledge is learned securely or deeply enough
  • Gaps in pupils' learning are not consistently identified and addressed across all subjects

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with pupils having a well-developed understanding of how to stay safe both online and in the community.

Hamsterley Primary School is a small, welcoming school where pupils are happy, safe and well-behaved. However, the quality of education requires improvement as some pupils are not achieving as highly as they could.

At a Glance

16.7%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

13 responses
Would recommend92%
Child is happy100%
Well taught85%
Good progress62%
Feels safe100%
Well behaved85%
Bullying dealt with31%
Kept informed77%
Handles concerns62%
Wider development85%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2024/25

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

Reading71%
Maths29%
Writing29%

2024/25 academic year

Class Sizes

15.5

Avg class size

14.0

KS2

2

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Working Mens Club (W-bound)
115m · 2 min walk
Prospect House (W-bound)
267m · 4 min walk
Cross Keys (W-bound)
291m · 5 min walk
Post Box (W-bound)
480m · 8 min walk
Coronation Farm (NE-bound)
577m · 9 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

73%

Available places

36 pupils

49 capacity

13 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Bishop Auckland

Low pressure
New homes approved:1,040
Projected new pupils:260

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bishop Auckland

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(8)

8 July 2025
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
13 February 2024
5 February 2019
Leadership & ManagementGood

House Prices

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SEN Provision

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

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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.

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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.

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School Funding

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

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

4.53378%

Overall absence

14.81481%

Persistent absence

27

Enrolments

Authorised3.97076%
Unauthorised0.56302%
Persistent (10%+)14.81481%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

4.10422%
18/19
2.4603%
20/21
6.72283%
21/22
4.48282%
22/23
6.5461%
23/24
4.53378%
24/25
Overall absence rate

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

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