Newbottle Primary Academy, Houghton le Spring

Ofsted's report card from its 9 June 2026 inspection grades Newbottle Primary Academy on 7 areas: 7 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Expected standard. "By the end of key stage 2, pupils achieve well."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Pupils know it is important to attend school."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The school has developed an ambitious and broad curriculum."

Early years - Expected standard. "The early years curriculum is highly effective and well-designed."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders know the school community and pupils well."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "All leaders, including those responsible for governance, have a clear understanding of the school's context, challenges and the impact of the funding they receive."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "There is a clear personal development programme and the school have recently redesigned this thoughtfully to meet the context of their school."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to strengthen their work to monitor the systems in place to reduce barriers to learning, ensuring this is done with increasing rigour so that support strategies are skilfully introduced or adjusted"; "Leaders should continue to strengthen and embed their approach to addressing gaps in pupils' foundational reading and writing skills, ensuring these gaps are quickly narrowed and reflected in sustained, above-average outcomes"; "Leaders should continue to strengthen the school's personal development programme, ensuring it is tailored to the specific needs of the school's context and consistently increases all pupils participating and benefitting from that offer".

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include choir, coding and forest school.

The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care, from £4 per session.

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Newbottle Primary Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 78% in Sunderland and 77% and 75% across England.

Results were similar in 2024 (80% in reading, 85% in maths).

For September 2026 entry, 43 families put Newbottle Primary Academy as their first choice and 87 named it as one of their preferences, for 55 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to Newbottle Primary Academy are Burnside Academy Inspires (0.5 miles, Good, 64% reading, 57% maths); Bernard Gilpin Primary School (1 mile, Outstanding, 92% reading, 93% maths); Shiney Row Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 75% reading, 79% maths); and Dubmire Primary (1.1 miles, Good, 73% reading, 73% maths).

Newbottle Primary Academy's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Newbottle Primary Academy is one of 3 schools run by Aim High Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

14.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 1.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 71 pupils (16.2%) received SEN support and 5 (1.1%) 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 a moderate learning difficulty.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Newbottle Primary Academy.

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Houghton Rd-Grasswell Tce (n-bound), 180 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Newbottle Primary Academy 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 95 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Sunderland (148).

In 2024/25, Newbottle Primary Academy issued 8 suspensions, 1.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.