New Silksworth Academy Infant, Sunderland
New Silksworth Academy Infant is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 7 in Sunderland, part of Extol Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2024 did not change this grade. It was 63% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Sunderland (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
New Silksworth Academy Infant in detail
Getting a place at New Silksworth Academy Infant
For September 2026 entry, 33 families put New Silksworth Academy Infant as their first choice and 53 named it as one of their preferences, for 37 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at New Silksworth Academy Infant
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to New Silksworth Academy Infant are New Silksworth Academy Junior (under 0.1 miles, Good, 69% reading, 65% maths); St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth (under 0.1 miles, Good, 91% reading, 94% maths); Mill Hill Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 92% reading, 87% maths); and Hill View Infant Academy (1 mile, Good).
New Silksworth Academy JuniorSt Leonard's Catholic Primary School, SilksworthMill Hill Primary SchoolHill View Infant Academy
The trust
New Silksworth Academy Infant is one of 8 schools run by Extol Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
5.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (83%) and Black (8%).
In 2026, 44 pupils (20.5%) received SEN support and 4 (1.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Staffing
New Silksworth Academy Infant had 12 teachers in 2026, one for every 11 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is University (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 2 miles away in a straight line.
12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Blind Lane - Wynyard Street (s-bound), 80 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood New Silksworth Academy Infant stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
New Silksworth Academy Infant recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to New Silksworth Academy Infant are Venerable Bede Church of England Academy (0.4 miles), Farringdon Community Academy (1.1 miles), St Aidan's Catholic Academy (1.4 miles) and Southmoor Academy (1.5 miles).
Venerable Bede Church of England AcademyFarringdon Community AcademySt Aidan's Catholic AcademySouthmoor Academy
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good and may be improving; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
The pupils who attend New Silksworth Academy know that they belong here. They have a strong sense of their own identity and what it means to be a pupil at the school. The school's motto #WeAre encapsulates this sense of belonging. Pupils talk about their learning behaviours and what it means to be courageous, inspirational and resilient. The school community sum up these learning behaviours in #WeAreNewSilksworth.
Pupils are excited to arrive at school in the morning. They are keen to share stories and news with adults. The warm relationships between staff and pupils are immediately clear. Many pupils explain that the adults are the best thing about their school. Pupils are confident that their teachers want the best for them and will keep them safe.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that allows children to learn about the world around them. Leaders ensure that pupils learn about the area they live in and then the world beyond. The school recognises the importance of making sure that pupils learn about role models and aim high. Pupils learn about local authors and industry as well as other cultures. In designing the curriculum, right from the youngest children, the school has ensured that knowledge is built carefully over time. Leaders have mapped out the crucial knowledge that pupils will learn. They have anticipated mistakes that pupils might make and explicitly teach important vocabulary.
Reading runs through everything at New Silksworth Academy. The school has ensured that reading and stories are at the heart of pupils' daily experiences. Pupils enjoy a book and a bagel each morning. They talk with excitement about the stories that adults share with them. Pupils of all ages learn poems by heart. Pupils understand why reading is important.
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 Good at its June 2019 inspection - up from Inadequate.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
19.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
20.3
Avg class size
21.5
Infant (KS1)
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with New Silksworth Academy Infant
Before and after school care
New Silksworth Academy Infant is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Sunderland
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near New Silksworth Academy Infant.
- Helpinghands Out of School ClubAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to New Silksworth Academy Infant from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. New Silksworth Academy Infant is in Sunderland; for families living there:
Apply to Sunderland for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 23
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 10
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 5 serious and 17 slight.
10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 8 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
6 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 Sunderland is 13 (the median across 125 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
Your chances of a place at New Silksworth Academy Infant
Will you get a place at New Silksworth Academy Infant? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against New Silksworth Academy Infant's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for New Silksworth Academy Infant:
- The straight-line distance from your home to New Silksworth Academy Infant.
- Sunderland publishes last distance offered figures, but none for New Silksworth Academy Infant that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at New Silksworth Academy Infant for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Sunderland got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
63%
Available places
133 pupils
210 places
77 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Sunderland
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Sunderland
Across Sunderland council
Places available
3,430
Applications
2,737
Got 1st preference
95.0%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All primary applications across Sunderland council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
44
SEN Support
4
EHC Plans
22.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
215
Total Pupils
105
Boys
110
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
17.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,551
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,913
Per pupil
£887k
Total funding
£39k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.5%
Overall absence
14.6%
Persistent absence
82
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
New Silksworth Academy Infant
Questions parents ask about New Silksworth Academy Infant
What is New Silksworth Academy Infant's Ofsted rating?
New Silksworth Academy Infant's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for New Silksworth Academy Infant?
No fixed boundary. When New Silksworth Academy Infant is oversubscribed, Sunderland allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at New Silksworth Academy Infant?
New Silksworth Academy Infant was not full in 2025: it ran at 63% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at New Silksworth Academy Infant?
Classes at New Silksworth Academy Infant average 20.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to New Silksworth Academy Infant?
New Silksworth Academy Infant has around 215 pupils on roll. 19% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at New Silksworth Academy Infant?
5.5% of sessions were missed at New Silksworth Academy Infant in 2024/25. 14.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to New Silksworth Academy Infant?
Apply through Sunderland's coordinated admissions process, naming New Silksworth Academy Infant on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does New Silksworth Academy Infant have a breakfast club or after-school club?
New Silksworth Academy Infant is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Helpinghands Out of School Club (registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near New Silksworth Academy Infant?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 5 serious and 17 slight. 10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 8 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 6 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 Sunderland is 13 (the median across 125 schools, same distance and years).
Where is New Silksworth Academy Infant?
New Silksworth Academy Infant is at Blind Lane, New Silksworth, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR3 1AS.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)