The Sue Hedley Nursery School

About The Sue Hedley Nursery School

Every single parent who responded to the Ofsted Parent View survey said they would recommend The Sue Hedley Nursery School, with 100% ticking 'yes'. That's a powerful signal from the 21 families who took part, and it's backed up by the detail: 100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy at the school and does well there. The school is clearly oversubscribed too, which is no surprise given its reputation. It's a state nursery in South Tyneside for children aged 2 to 5, with 75 pupils on roll and a headteacher, Ashley Borthwick, leading the team. A significant 36% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, reflecting the diverse intake the school serves. The sense of safety is particularly striking — 76% of parents strongly agreed their child feels safe, and none disagreed. Communication with parents also scores highly, with 76% strongly agreeing the school lets them know how their child is getting on.

Academically, this is a nursery, so there are no SATs or Progress 8 scores to report, but the Ofsted picture is exceptional. The school was inspected in February 2025 and received Outstanding grades across the board: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all rated 1 (Outstanding). Its previous inspection, back in 2013, also judged overall effectiveness as Outstanding, so this is a consistently high-performing setting. In the local authority, there are four nursery schools rated Outstanding, and The Sue Hedley is one of them. The nearest other Outstanding nursery is Clervaux Nursery School, about 1.6 km away. For a nursery, the focus is on early years development, and the parent survey suggests that's going well — 67% strongly agreed their child does well at the school, and 62% strongly agreed the school supports their child's wider personal development.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its young pupils, including an outdoor playground, a dining hall, art studios, a gymnasium, and even a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, dance, and swimming, and there's a gardening club too. For children with additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions covering speech, language and communication, visual impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulty or disability. That said, the parent survey data on SEND support was not completed by any respondents, so it's hard to gauge parent views on that front. This is a school that suits families looking for a strong start in early years education within the state system, particularly those who value close communication with staff and a setting where children feel secure. The high free school meals figure suggests it serves a broad community, and the unanimous parent recommendation speaks volumes about day-to-day experience.

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