Horden Nursery School, Peterlee
Horden Nursery School is a nursery school for pupils aged 2 to 5 in Peterlee. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2024 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2015)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Horden Nursery School in detail
Horden Nursery School in its own words
In its own words: "In this section you will find information on how we run our school including our current staffing structure, governing body and our school policies. You can find details of how we are performing by viewing or downloading our Ofsted Reports. You can use performance tables (sometimes known as league tables) to compare schools and colleges in your area."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Who goes there
0% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 5% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (81%) and Black (10%).
In 2026, 10 pupils (10%) received SEN support and 0 (0%) had an education, health and care plan. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Horden Nursery School has a resourced provision for other difficulties or disabilities: 128 places, 94 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Horden, about 500 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Alder Road (s-bound), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Horden Nursery School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 164 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in County Durham (84), as is usual near a town centre.
Sources: DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from March 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Outstanding.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Horden Nursery School's vision is that children develop a long-lasting love of learning. It provides amazing awe and wonder experiences that nurture children's curiosity. For example, children delight in finding snails of different sizes in the outdoor area, marvelling how they crawl across their hands.
Highly skilled staff harness every moment to maximise learning. Adults adeptly simplify and repeat key ideas to enable children, of all ages, to understand new concepts.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school sequences its exceptionally ambitious curriculum to meet the needs of the youngest 2-year-olds through to the 4-year-olds who are ready for primary school. The school is highly responsive to children's interests and fascinations. For example, when some children showed interest in the birds settling in the nursery grounds, staff organised a visit from an owl.
The school has an impressive understanding and oversight of vocabulary development. Adults focus on using open ended questions, modelling the use of language and repeating words. This has been particularly effective in supporting children with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) and preverbal children to access the curriculum. Adults are extremely skilled at modelling vocabulary.
From Ofsted's July 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Outstanding at its March 2015 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
0.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Other
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 3 nearby nursery schools
Social & online
Keep up with Horden Nursery School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Horden Nursery School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Horden Nursery School is in County Durham; for families living there:
- County Durham's school travel policy: School transport policies and strategies
- How to apply: Apply for free home to school travel
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 0 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Peterlee
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Peterlee
Across County Durham council
Places available
5,720
Applications
4,986
Got 1st preference
94.2%
Got preferred school
98.5%
All secondary applications across County Durham council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
10
SEN Support
0
EHC Plans
10.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Horden Nursery School has a resourced provision for other difficulties or disabilities: 128 places, 94 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
100
Total Pupils
53
Boys
47
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
2
Teachers
50.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
2026 data
Questions parents ask about Horden Nursery School
What is Horden Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Horden Nursery School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Horden Nursery School?
No fixed boundary. When Horden Nursery School is oversubscribed, County Durham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to Horden Nursery School?
Horden Nursery School has around 100 pupils on roll.
Does Horden Nursery School have specialist SEN provision?
Horden Nursery School has a resourced provision for other difficulties or disabilities: 128 places, 94 pupils on roll.
How do I apply to Horden Nursery School?
Apply through County Durham's coordinated admissions process, naming Horden Nursery School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Horden Nursery School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 0 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Horden Nursery School?
Horden Nursery School is at Cotsford Park, Horden, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 4TB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)