Riverside Primary School, North Shields
Riverside Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in North Shields. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 10th-highest of the 15 schools in North Shields with published results, and 10,901st of 14,452 across England. It was 65% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to North Tyneside (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Riverside Primary School in detail
Riverside Primary School in its own words
The school runs a breakfast club.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils at Riverside Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 64% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 75% in North Tyneside and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (72% in reading, 61% in maths).
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Riverside Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 17 families put Riverside Primary School as their first choice and 26 named it as one of their preferences, for 17 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Riverside Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Riverside Primary School are Waterville Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 63% reading, 67% maths); St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, North Shields (0.4 miles, Good, 68% reading, 58% maths); St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, North Shields (0.6 miles, 89% reading, 89% maths); and Collingwood Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 70% reading, 83% maths).
Riverside Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Waterville Primary SchoolSt Joseph's Catholic Primary School, North ShieldsSt Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, North ShieldsCollingwood Primary School
Who goes there
70.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above 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, 59 pupils (39.9%) received SEN support and 14 (9.5%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Riverside Primary School 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 Meadow Well (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 250 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Waterville Road-Silkeys Lane (w-bound), 180 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Riverside Primary School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 455 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in North Tyneside (232), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Riverside Primary School issued 8 suspensions, 5.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Riverside Primary School are Norham High School (0.5 miles) and St Thomas More Catholic High School (1.3 miles).
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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 agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's July 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Riverside Primary provides a warm, safe environment where children are happy and behave well. The school has made real progress in reading and writing, with staff using effective teaching methods. Pupils benefit from a caring team that supports their individual needs, including those with additional learning requirements.
Key Strengths
- Strong focus on reading with daily phonics and guided reading sessions
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs
- Good behaviour and positive relationships between staff and pupils
- Improving mathematics outcomes, particularly in early years and key stage 1
- Well-developed writing instruction using modelling and scaffolding
Areas for Improvement
- Curriculum in some subjects is not clearly sequenced, limiting pupils' ability to build on prior knowledge
- Some pupils have significantly low attendance which prevents them reaching their potential
- Gaps in older pupils' mathematics knowledge affecting their progress
- Middle leaders need more training to construct well-ordered curriculums
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with a strong culture that prioritises pupils' interests.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports leadership activities, museum visits (Grimsby Fishing Museum), responsibility roles (buddies for younger children), reading information workshops for parents
Riverside Primary School requires improvement overall. Pupils are happy and behave well, but the school needs to strengthen its curriculum planning and address attendance issues.
At a Glance
70.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 73% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 64% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 68% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
16.4
Avg class size
18.3
Infant (KS1)
17.8
KS2
9
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Riverside Primary School
Before and after school care
Riverside Primary School 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 North Tyneside
Getting There
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Riverside Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Riverside Primary School is in North Tyneside; for families living there:
Apply to North Tyneside for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
1 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 North Tyneside is 12 (the median across 84 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 Riverside Primary School
Will you get a place at Riverside Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Riverside Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Riverside Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Riverside Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from North Tyneside, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Riverside Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in North Tyneside 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
65%
Available places
137 pupils
210 places
73 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - North Shields
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for North Shields
Across North Tyneside council
Places available
2,516
Applications
2,025
Got 1st preference
91.7%
Got preferred school
96.2%
All primary applications across North Tyneside council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
59
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
49.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
148
Total Pupils
73
Boys
75
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
12.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,347
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,404
Per pupil
£1238k
Total funding
£152k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.2%
Overall absence
24.0%
Persistent absence
129
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
Riverside Primary School
Questions parents ask about Riverside Primary School
What are SATs results like at Riverside Primary School?
Of the pupils at Riverside Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 73% reached the expected standard in reading and 64% did so in maths.
What is Riverside Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Riverside Primary School was rated Requires Improvement at its most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2015 it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Riverside Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Riverside Primary School is oversubscribed, North Tyneside allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Riverside Primary School?
Riverside Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 65% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Riverside Primary School?
Classes at Riverside Primary School average 16.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Riverside Primary School?
Riverside Primary School has around 148 pupils on roll. 70% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Riverside Primary School?
7.2% of sessions were missed at Riverside Primary School in 2024/25. 24% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Riverside Primary School?
Apply through North Tyneside's coordinated admissions process, naming Riverside Primary School 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 Riverside Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Riverside Primary School 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.
How many road collisions happen near Riverside Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 1 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 North Tyneside is 12 (the median across 84 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Riverside Primary School?
Riverside Primary School is at Minton Lane, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE29 6DQ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)