Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up Places Available emoji_events #31 in Newcastle upon Tyne public Top 50% UK

Byker Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Michelle Donnison

location_onNewcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 2AT

language Visit Website phone 1912656906

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

455

school

Expected Standard

64%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Byker Primary School is a Community school primary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, serving ages 2-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Ranks in the top 50% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Byker Primary School is a community school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, admitting pupils aged 2-11. The school has approximately 421 pupils on roll, of whom 81% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 64% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 8% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #31 of 63 primaries in Newcastle upon Tyne and #4,063 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Outstanding. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Good, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.3:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.8 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

64%

LA 63%

Reading80% LA 75%

Writing71% LA 71%

Maths76% LA 74%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

63%

LA 61%England 61%

Reading71% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing64% LA 71% · Eng 72%

Maths78% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

38%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading59% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing41% LA 70% · Eng 71%

Maths71% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.7

Read

LA -0.1

-2.4 to 1.0

-5.7

Write

LA 0.4

-7.3 to -4.0

2.4

Maths

LA -0.1

0.8 to 4.0

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading77% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing83% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths87% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.6

Read

LA 1.5

0.0 to 3.2

1.9

Write

LA 1.5

0.4 to 3.3

1.9

Maths

LA 1.6

0.5 to 3.3

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

64%

LA 68%

Reading70% LA 77%

Writing74% LA 78%

Maths85% LA 78%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.2

Read

LA 1.5

-2 to 1.6

2.8

Write

LA 1.3

1.1 to 4.5

3.4

Maths

LA 1.6

1.8 to 5

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

11 February 2025

Inspection Report

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11 October 2023

Inspection Report

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13 July 2017

Inspection Report

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26 September 2012

Inspection Report

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27 January 2010

Inspection Report

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19 October 2006

Inspection Report

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11 March 2002

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-02-11

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2017-07-13

Maintained Academy and School Short inspection Legacy

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2012-09-26

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

1.0%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.7%(3 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 421 pupils. During this period, there were 4 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.0%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	421	4	1.0%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	429	3	0.7%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	445	16	3.6%	0.8%	1
2023/24 (Spring term)	443	11	2.5%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	446	7	1.6%	0.8%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	458	8	1.7%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	455	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	451	16	3.5%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	473	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	465	2	0.4%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	461	2	0.4%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	488	1	0.2%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	489	1	0.2%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	482	2	0.4%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	520	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	520	1	0.2%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	501	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	513	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	501	0	0.0%	0.5%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	486	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	517	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	491	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	474	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	511	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	496	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	484	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 64 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 32 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 28 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

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Byker Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Newcastle upon Tyne

Knop Law Primary School

Throckley Primary School

Cragside Primary School

West Jesmond Primary School

St Vincents Catholic Primary School, Newcastle

Hilton Primary Academy