Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up Places Available emoji_events #1 in County Durham public Top 8% UK

West Cornforth Primary School

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

personMrs Kathryn Costello

location_onFerryhill, DL17 9HP

language Visit Website phone 1740654315

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

219

school

Expected Standard

83%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

West Cornforth Primary School is a Community school primary school in Ferryhill, serving ages 2-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Ranks in the top 8% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

West Cornforth Primary School is a community school in Ferryhill, County Durham, admitting pupils aged 2-11. The school has approximately 252 pupils on roll, of whom 50% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 83% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 17% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #1 of 185 primaries in County Durham and #67 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 Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

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

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.7:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 3.5 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

83%

LA 60%

Reading83% LA 72%

Writing92% LA 72%

Maths88% LA 72%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading77% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing74% LA 71% · Eng 72%

Maths68% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

50%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading73% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing64% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths73% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

-3.8

Read

LA -0.6

-6.4 to -1.2

-2.2

Write

LA -0.1

-4.7 to 0.4

-3.4

Maths

LA -0.9

-5.9 to -1.0

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

81%

LA 65%England 65%

Reading81% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing86% LA 80% · Eng 78%

Maths90% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

109

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

4.2

Read

LA 0.1

1.6 to 6.9

2.8

Write

LA 0.6

0.3 to 5.2

4.3

Maths

LA 0.1

2.0 to 6.6

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

77%

LA 67%

Reading93% LA 77%

Writing90% LA 78%

Maths83% LA 78%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.8

Read

LA 0.7

1.7 to 5.9

2.8

Write

LA 0.6

0.7 to 4.9

2.8

Maths

LA 0.6

0.9 to 4.7

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 February 2024

Inspection Report

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06 November 2018

Inspection Report

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11 January 2018

Inspection Report

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27 September 2012

Inspection Report

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07 January 2011

Inspection Report

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23 June 2008

Inspection Report

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03 May 2005

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-09-16

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

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2018-11-06

S5 Inspection Legacy

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2018-01-11

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2012-09-27

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

1.6%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.8%(2 pupils)

Spring term 2025

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

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 252 pupils. During this period, there were 4 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.6%, 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)	252	4	1.6%	0.8%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	240	13	5.4%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	264	10	3.8%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	255	2	0.8%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	247	8	3.2%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	247	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	219	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	218	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	232	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	239	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	230	6	2.6%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	224	1	0.4%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	210	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	215	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	214	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	214	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	209	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	226	3	1.3%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	221	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	214	3	1.4%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	227	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	224	2	0.9%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	215	2	0.9%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	222	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	209	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	196	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 16 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 9 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 9 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 7 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

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Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

82.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

73.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

18.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree36%

agree36%

disagree9%

strongly disagree9%

don't know9%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree45%

agree36%

disagree9%

don't know9%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree36%

agree18%

strongly disagree18%

don't know9%

not applicable18%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree36%

agree45%

disagree9%

don't know9%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree45%

agree27%

disagree27%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree55%

agree27%

disagree18%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree55%

agree45%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree64%

agree36%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree45%

agree36%

disagree18%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes73%

no27%

Top Primary Schools in County Durham

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Outstanding

location_on Ferryhill, DL17 8QY

emoji_events #2 in LA

Sacriston Academy

Good

location_on Durham, DH7 6LQ

emoji_events #3 in LA

Coxhoe Primary School

Good

location_on Durham, DH6 4EJ

emoji_events #4 in LA

Framwellgate Moor Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Durham, DH1 5BG

emoji_events #5 in LA

Burnopfield Primary School

Good

location_on Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE16 6PT

emoji_events #6 in LA

South Stanley Junior School

Good

location_on Stanley, DH9 6PZ

emoji_events #7 in LA

View all schools in County Durham arrow_forward

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)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in County Durham

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Sacriston Academy

Coxhoe Primary School

Framwellgate Moor Primary School

Burnopfield Primary School

South Stanley Junior School