Whitfield CofE Primary School, Hexham

Good
Primary
Academy sponsor led
Mixed
Church of England
Ages 311

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Rachel Watson
Pupils:22 / 56 capacity
LA:Northumberland
Phone:01434345267
Address:Whitfield, Hexham, NE47 8JH
Trust:THE GOOD SHEPHERD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:1 September 2017

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 8 months ago

Report card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)

Achievement
Expected Standard
Behaviour
Expected Standard
Personal Development
Expected Standard
Leadership
Expected Standard
Early Years
Expected Standard
Inspected 27 January 2026View full report
URN:144478
UKPRN:10063702
Diocese:Diocese of Newcastle
Constituency:Hexham
Urban/Rural:Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Whitfield CofE Primary is a wonderfully welcoming place where your child will be known by name and part of a tight-knit community. The school excels at looking after children's wellbeing and personal development, with fantastic outdoor learning opportunities including a woodland classroom and residential visits. Staff show exceptional care and all pupils, regardless of their needs, receive strong support to help them flourish.

Key Strengths

  • Excellent attendance rates well above national average with no persistently absent pupils
  • Strong, inclusive approach to supporting pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
  • Warm, caring community where pupils know each other well and behave extremely well
  • Excellent enrichment activities including residential visits, outdoor learning and woodland classroom
  • Effective safeguarding with an open culture where concerns are actively managed

Areas for Improvement

  • Phonics teaching is inconsistent and letter/number formation is not corrected well enough
  • Attainment in Year 1 phonics screening, Year 4 multiplication tables and Year 6 reading/writing/maths is too low
  • Pupils not making sufficient progress over time to prepare them for secondary school
  • Early years provision for reading lacks pace and children lack correct writing tools
  • Leadership has not acted quickly enough to improve pupil outcomes in English and mathematics

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed.

Extracurricular Activities

Residential visits, outdoor adventurous activities, theatre visits, museum visits, community garden party, eco-council, sports leaders, school council, collective worship, breakfast club, after-school club

Whitfield CofE Primary School is a small village school with a warm, inclusive community where pupils behave exceptionally well and feel safe. However, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is too low, and pupils are not making sufficient progress from their starting points.

At a Glance

10.0%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Class Sizes

6.3

Avg class size

11.0

KS2

3

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Bog Cottages (o/s)
879m · 14 min walk
Tarry Back (o/s)
885m · 14 min walk
Village Pantry (opp)
965m · 16 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

39%

Available places

22 pupils

56 capacity

34 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Hexham

Low pressure
New homes approved:904
Projected new pupils:226

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Hexham

Admissions Demand - Northumberland

Low demand0.69x oversubscription

Places available

3,779

Applications

2,591

Got 1st preference

96.6%

Got preferred school

99.9%

Primary admissions across Northumberland (2025/26)

Inspection History(3)

27 January 2026Report card
Achievement
Behaviour
Personal Development
Leadership
Early Years
9 November 2021
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesOutstanding
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
2 February 2016
Inadequate
Leadership & ManagementInadequate

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.

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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.

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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.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

6.52346%

Overall absence

21.05263%

Persistent absence

19

Enrolments

Authorised5.0229%
Unauthorised1.50055%
Persistent (10%+)21.05263%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

6.98384%
18/19
7.05339%
20/21
7.02372%
21/22
8.31354%
22/23
16.85593%
23/24
6.52346%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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