Venerable Bede Church of England Academy, Sunderland
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data. Admissions policy: Non-selective
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 6 months agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
The school is making genuine progress with strong new leadership and trust support. Staff and pupils have embraced higher behaviour expectations, creating a calmer learning environment where most pupils are now ready to engage with lessons. There is a clear focus on reading, with new resources and dedicated support helping pupils become more confident readers.
Key Strengths
- New leadership team and trust support bringing real capacity for improvement
- Clear curriculum vision with well-sequenced teaching in core subjects
- Significant improvements in behaviour and school culture with 'Team Venerable Bede' approach
- Strengthened reading provision across the school with dedicated support
- Improved attendance for some pupil groups and reduced serious behavioural incidents
Areas for Improvement
- Teaching and learning strategy not yet consistently embedded across all areas
- Assessment practices still variable in some subjects
- Some pupils with SEND not receiving sufficiently adapted teaching
- Persistent absence rates remain high despite improvement efforts
- Further work needed to ensure reading information is used effectively for next steps
Venerable Bede Church of England Academy was judged to have serious weaknesses in January 2025. This monitoring inspection in September 2025 found that leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the serious weaknesses designation to be removed.
At a Glance
34.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
130 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
23.5
Avg class size
36
Total classes
3 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
82%
Available places
738 pupils
900 capacity
162 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Sunderland
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Sunderland
Admissions Demand - Sunderland
Places available
3,354
Applications
2,859
Got 1st preference
95.1%
Got preferred school
99.0%
Secondary admissions across Sunderland (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
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
12.72197%
Overall absence
32.90846%
Persistent absence
863
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Reviews
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Venerable Bede Church of England Academy
St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth
New Silksworth Academy Junior
New Silksworth Academy Infant
Hill View Infant Academy
Ryhope Junior School
Ryhope Infant School Academy
Mill Hill Primary School
Hill View Junior Academy
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope
St Paul's CofE Primary School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Nearby Schools
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