Usworth Colliery Primary School

About Usworth Colliery Primary School

If you're a parent considering Usworth Colliery Primary School, the most recent parent survey offers a mixed but largely positive picture. Of the 17 families who responded to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire between September 2024 and September 2025, 82% said they would recommend the school. That's a solid majority, though it's worth noting that 18% said they wouldn't. When you look at the detail, the strongest signals come from questions about happiness and safety: 88% of parents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and the same proportion felt their child is safe. The school is also popular enough to be oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 intake, it received 56 applications for 41 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.37, and all 41 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. That suggests it's a school local families actively want, even if not every parent is completely satisfied.

Academically, Usworth Colliery Primary School is rated Good by Ofsted following its January 2025 inspection, with a Good mark across all five graded categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership. This is a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2020, when the school was rated Requires Improvement. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 51% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That's below the Sunderland local authority average of 67% and places the school 69th out of 73 primary schools in the area. However, individual subject scores tell a slightly different story. The average reading score was 105 and the average maths score was 103, both above the national benchmark of 100. A higher proportion of pupils reached the higher standard in reading (33%) than in maths (11%) or writing (2%), which suggests reading is a relative strength.

The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, with 48.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. It offers a broad range of clubs including drama, choir, gardening, chess and coding, plus sports such as netball, cross country, swimming, athletics, rounders and cricket. Facilities include a gymnasium, library, playing fields, dining hall and chapel. For children with additional needs, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. It also has a resourced provision. The school is a mixed, non-religious state primary for children aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form. Given its oversubscription, families living closest to the school will have the best chance of securing a place, and the data suggests it's a good fit for parents who value a supportive, improving school in a community-focused setting.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Usworth Colliery Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents