Byerley Park Primary School

Byerley Park Primary School

Address: Greenfield Way, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, DL5 7LE Unique reference number (URN): 114189

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

There is an extensive, well-sequenced and high-quality programme for pupils' personal development and wellbeing at Byerley Park. Pupils across the school, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have full access to this broad and engaging offer. It prepares them extremely well for life beyond the school gates. Pupils especially appreciate the annual 'Byerley Park's Got Talent' show. This gives them the chance to shine beyond the academic subjects. Pupils develop well as individual characters within the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

From children's first days in early years, a sharp focus on personal, social and emotional development ensures that children appreciate and respect one another. They play and learn together in harmony. Pupils celebrate diversity and get many opportunities to develop their cultural awareness. For example, they learn about Rosh Hashanah or Diwali in assemblies. Educational visits help pupils understand spirituality. For instance, a trip to a cathedral helps pupils to develop a sense of awe and wonder. Residential experiences in York and Cumbria support pupils to become resilient and independent. Pupils develop and embed key social skills. Pupils of all ages quickly develop a keen understanding of right and wrong. Older pupils clearly outline how individual liberty should not interfere with the rule of law. They talk with deep understanding about how discrimination is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The relationships education curriculum prepares pupils very well for adulthood. They understand what a healthy relationship should look and feel like. Pupils develop an age- appropriate understanding of the changes that will happen to them as they become adolescents. A well-considered approach to preparation for life beyond school means that pupils understand how to deal with risk, both online and offline. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They discuss personal safety with deep understanding and eloquence.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders' work has a demonstrable impact on pupils' achievement. Over time, pupil outcomes at the end of key stage 2 have increased significantly. From achievement that was typically below or significantly below national averages in 2022 and 2023, pupils now typically achieve more highly than their peers nationally. This also applies to disadvantaged pupils who often achieve more highly than non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Where this is not the case, the gap between disadvantaged pupils at Byerley Park and non- disadvantaged pupils nationally is closing.

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Achievement Expected standard

There is a clear focus on developing children's knowledge of early reading and mathematics from their earliest days in Reception class. This means that children make steady progress across the curriculum. They develop firm foundations for future learning. Pupils of all ages are typically well prepared for the next stage of their education. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils typically attend well. Across the school, attendance for many pupils is high. Where pupils' attendance starts to fall, or where persistent absence becomes a problem, leaders take effective action. This helps to improve attendance. Leaders' actions ensure that the proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities who are persistently absent has decreased, for example. Leaders work effectively with parents and carers to prevent any issues with attendance from escalating.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils' behaviour is a particularly positive aspect of school life. The school is an oasis of calm, orderly and productive learning. Pupils' attitudes to their learning are highly positive. Staff foster warm and nurturing relationships with pupils. A culture of mutual respect between adults and pupils is evident across the school. Pupils understand what is expected of them. Bullying and disruptive behaviours are rare. Any form of reported discrimination is dealt with in a timely manner. Staff rarely need to apply sanctions in line with the school's behaviour systems. Infrequently, some pupils can struggle with their behaviour. Well-trained staff put effective and timely support in place. They expertly adapt behaviour management strategies to support pupils, based on a deep knowledge of individual pupils' needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders' decisions and actions bring about improvements across a number of curriculum areas. Their work positively impacts on the quality of the curriculum, teaching and pupils' outcomes. An ambitious, broad curriculum equips pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Staff get the training they need to develop their subject knowledge. They understand how to adapt their teaching and tasks to meet pupils' changing needs. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Subject curriculums are well sequenced. This helps pupils to revisit prior learning and secure their knowledge. This includes pupils' important knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. Overall, teaching is well focused on ensuring that pupils develop a secure bank of knowledge and skills and recall it fluently. For example, in history, pupils talk eloquently about their learning, such as what they have studied about the 'Aycliffe Angels'. In mathematics, they convert improper fractions to mixed numbers quickly and accurately. Pupils are also supported to produce high-quality writing, such as persuasive letters to William Gladstone, the British Prime Minister in 1894. Teaching enables them to practise and showcase their well-developed composition skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In a small number of subjects, leaders' checks on learning are in the early stages of implementation. This means that, at times, leaders do not have as clear an understanding as they could of the impact of teaching on pupils' retention of knowledge, and how greater consistency with this could be developed.

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Early years Expected standard

Children from a wide range of external providers come into the Reception class each year. The school works closely with parents and carers as part of this transition. These partnerships are key to children settling in quickly. Staff immerse children in stories. They model language and vocabulary effectively to strengthen children's communication and language skills. Children then use these skills in their play with others. They talk excitedly about Chinese New Year, for example, role-playing a Chinese meal and giving clear instructions on how to use chopsticks. Others busily investigate how 'long' they are, using socks as a non-standard unit of measurement.

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Early years Expected standard

Skilled staff listen carefully to children. Their interactions are purposeful and help promote children's understanding of key learning. For example, in mathematics, staff expertly guide children to recognise and form numbers. They support children to describe what they are doing using appropriate language. Staff also support children to use their emerging reading and writing skills effectively, demonstrating a clear understanding of how best to promote each child's development. Reading is prioritised, with staff ensuring that children practise and reinforce key phonics knowledge from the taught sessions. The early years curriculum is well sequenced, enabling children to make secure progress across all areas of learning. It typically prepares children well for the next stage of their education.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Byerley Park is an inclusive school where pupils' needs are identified and addressed swiftly and effectively. Leaders develop robust systems to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those with any other vulnerability get the support they need to achieve well. Staff remove any barriers to pupils' learning and achievement. Learning is carefully adapted to individual pupils' needs. A strategic approach to staff deployment means pupils get high-quality and appropriate support when needed. This has a positive impact on pupils' outcomes over time. Pupils get every opportunity to achieve, academically and socially.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders monitor closely the impact of provision for all groups of pupils. Well-trained staff review and adapt planned additional support for pupils in a timely manner. Parents and carers are involved in this process. This means that provision continually adapts to help pupils make progress over time.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school's use of additional funding has notable impact. Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stage 2 show consistent improvement over time, most notably in reading. This allows pupils to confidently access other curriculum subjects, improving their outcomes across the wider curriculum as well.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders, including governors, have a very clear understanding of the strengths of the school. They identify where there are aspects of the school’s work that can be further refined and improved. Their actions have demonstrable and positive impact. The significant improvement in pupil outcomes at the end of Year 6 is a clear example of this impact. Where some aspects of the school's work are more recent, such as the evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching on pupils' knowledge retention, they are not as well embedded as more established improvements. Leaders have taken appropriate action to address this. However, it is too early to see the full impact of that work on staff's routine practice to further enhance the educational offer for pupils.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Decisions made at all levels of leadership across the school are made with pupils' best interests at heart. As a result, pupils who are disadvantaged, or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, get every opportunity to succeed. This has strengthened the inclusive nature of the school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors have a wide-ranging set of skills. They use these skills appropriately to support school improvement work. Governors are well informed and use effective approaches to triangulate and evaluate the information they receive from the school's leadership team on the quality of the school's work. This enables governors to hold leaders to account and ensure that improvements have impact over time.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff's professional development is a high priority for leaders. This has been instrumental in improving the quality of provision across the school. Despite the rapid changes that have taken place in recent years, leaders have ensured that staff are well supported in terms of their workload and wellbeing.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils at Byerley Park Primary School are proud, happy and cheerful ambassadors for their school. They exemplify the school values of 'respect, learning and safety'. There are highly positive relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils benefit from a nurturing environment in which they can succeed and achieve. There is a palpable sense of belonging amongst pupils at this school, which is shared equally by staff. Pupils love to come to school and attendance is typically high.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils become confident, resilient, independent and polite young people who are well prepared for later life. Their excellent behaviour and highly cooperative nature is a credit to the ethos that leaders have infused in all aspects of the school's work. Poor behaviour is rare, as is bullying. This helps to highlight the impact of the school's high expectations for all.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Building on the positive behaviour and high levels of respect across the school, pupils enjoy uninterrupted learning. They achieve well. As a consequence, pupils are typically well prepared for their next stages of education. Pupils develop an appropriate understanding of their learning. They use their knowledge and skills to produce increasingly high-quality pieces of work across the curriculum. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are disadvantaged, get the support they need to achieve well. Well-trained staff seek to quickly remove or reduce any barriers to learning for all pupils. Leaders work continuously to secure further improvements to how well pupils learn. Some improvements are early in their stage of implementation so are not, at present, having the desired impact on pupils' learning.

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Lead inspector:

Richard Beadnall, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Sharon Common, Ofsted Inspector Lianne Dixon, Ofsted Inspector Leaders ensure that pupils' education in school extends well beyond the academic. Pupils of all ages and backgrounds enjoy numerous opportunities for their wider character development. They talk excitedly about being given the chances to be 'the best version of ourselves'.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of teaching on pupils' retention of key knowledge in some subjects are embedded across the school and, in turn, lead to further improvements in pupils' learning and achievement.

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About this inspection

The acting chair of the board of governors in this school is Sarah James.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other school staff, a member of the board of governors and a representative of the local authority. They also spoke with groups of pupils, visited a sample of lessons and looked at pupils' work across a number of curriculum subjects.

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About this inspection

Inspectors also spoke with some parents and carers.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school does not use any alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection. A new deputy headteacher and a new special educational needs and disabilities coordinator were both appointed in September 2025.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2023/24 (final) 59% 61% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 80% 75% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 72% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 36% 46% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 55% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.0% 5.5% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 13.0% 14.6% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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