Kielder Primary School and Nursery, Hexham
Data last updated 12 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
This is a warm and welcoming village school where pupils thrive in a harmonious, caring environment with excellent behaviour and attendance. Reading is particularly strong, with all Year 1 pupils passing the phonics check, and pupils benefit from rich cultural learning experiences including partnerships with schools in England and Bahrain. Staff provide outstanding pastoral support and targeted help for every child, ensuring all pupils feel included and make progress from their individual starting points.
Key Strengths
- Pupils behave very well with exemplary behaviour in unstructured times and excellent attendance (almost all pupils over 98%)
- Reading is a real strength - all Year 1 pupils achieve the phonics screening check and pupils read with understanding, fluency and expression
- Strong personal development and wellbeing through the 'Thrive and Excel @ Kielder' framework, with excellent relationships and no bullying
- Excellent inclusion and targeted support for all pupils including those with additional needs and disadvantaged pupils
- Rich cultural experiences through partnerships with an inner-city school in England and international school in Bahrain
Areas for Improvement
- Writing achievement is not strong enough - pupils don't form letters correctly, struggle with common word spelling and use punctuation inconsistently
- Pupils don't have enough opportunities to solve mathematical problems, record calculations and explain their reasoning
- Governors' evaluations lack sufficient rigour in identifying the school's strengths and areas for development
- Teaching of writing lags behind reading - staff need to identify and address gaps in pupils' basic writing skills more quickly
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture where all pupils are made safer and feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Golf, gymnastics, tag rugby, mosaic art project with local artist, school song creation with local musician, school council, eco team, museum and arts venue visits, historic building visits
Kielder Primary School and Nursery is a small rural village school where pupils behave exceptionally well and feel safe, with strong safeguarding and personal development provision. However, writing achievement and the teaching of writing need significant improvement.
At a Glance
50.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
5.5
Avg class size
2
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
13%
Available places
10 pupils
75 capacity
65 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Hexham
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Hexham
Admissions Demand - Northumberland
Places available
3,779
Applications
2,591
Got 1st preference
96.6%
Got preferred school
99.9%
Primary admissions across Northumberland (2025/26)
Inspection History(9)
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.
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.
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.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.84214%
Overall absence
11.11111%
Persistent absence
9
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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