St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton, Houghton le Spring
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Overall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
St Michael's is a happy, purposeful school where children thrive academically and socially. Teachers are highly skilled at checking understanding, modelling expectations clearly, and breaking learning into manageable steps. The school excels at early identification of needs and provides tailored support so all pupils, including those facing barriers to learning, access the curriculum successfully and build confidence.
Key Strengths
- Consistently high academic achievement across the curriculum with above-average outcomes over time
- Excellent phonics teaching and early years provision that gives children a flying start
- Strong attendance rates and positive behaviour, with pupils showing high levels of engagement in lessons
- Well-planned curriculum built on clear pillars (reading, writing, oracy, grammar, phonics, literary canon)
- Skilled early identification and support for pupils with additional needs through 'spotlight' plans
Areas for Improvement
- Need to strengthen partnership working with parents of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities
- More work needed to develop support for pupils' social, emotional and mental health beyond academic support
- Some pupils lack detailed enough knowledge about other faiths to engage in meaningful discussions
- Personal development programme not tailored enough for all pupils to benefit fully
- Some pupils less confident about maintaining positive mental wellbeing
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and managed, making pupils safer and helping them feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
British science week, careers week, enterprise projects, school council, mentoring programmes, trips to open-air museums
St Michael's Catholic Primary School is a strong school where pupils consistently achieve well across the curriculum with above-average academic outcomes. Leaders have deep understanding of how pupils learn and have created a happy, purposeful school where high expectations are met.
At a Glance
8.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 90% to 97%. Maths has improved from 86% to 97%. Writing has remained stable at around 87%.
Class Sizes
28.6
Avg class size
28.7
Infant (KS1)
28.5
KS2
7
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
92%
Near capacity
193 pupils
210 capacity
17 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Houghton le Spring
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Houghton le Spring
Admissions Demand - Sunderland
Places available
3,460
Applications
2,785
Got 1st preference
95.4%
Got preferred school
98.8%
Primary admissions across Sunderland (2025/26)
Inspection History(104)
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
3.42569%
Overall absence
6.28571%
Persistent absence
175
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton
Nearby Schools
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