Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School
Dean Bank, Ferryhill, DL17 8PP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Craig Brown
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 262
- Pupils on roll
- 181
- URN
- 114086
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01740651512
About this school
Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School is a community primary school in Ferryhill. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 181 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 26 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 54% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 0% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 69% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 69% | 56% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 65% | 48% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 103.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 102.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 52% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 193 |
| 2023/24 | 186 |
| 2024/25 | 169 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School compares
Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School ranked 145th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 6.6% | 73.5% | 181 | — |
| Broom Cottages Primary & Nursery School | 32% | 8.7% | 50% | 246 | 0.5 miles |
| Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy | 84% | 5% | 34.1% | 248 | 0.8 miles |
| Ferryhill Station Primary School | 20% | 6.9% | 58.9% | 59 | 1.5 miles |
| North Park Primary School | 56% | 7.1% | 69.1% | 243 | 1.5 miles |
| Kirk Merrington Primary School | 83% | 3.3% | 11.1% | 180 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 73.46%
- English as an additional language
- 15.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.61%
- Persistent absence
- 21.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Broom Cottages Primary & Nursery School0.5 miles
Primary · Ferryhill
-
Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Ferryhill
-
Ferryhill Station Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Ferryhill
-
North Park Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Spennymoor
-
Kirk Merrington Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Spennymoor
Other schools in Ferryhill
Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School ranks 5th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Ferryhill.
- Broom Cottages Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Chilton Academy Primary
- Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy Primary
- Ferryhill Station Primary School Primary
- St Michael's Church of England Primary School Primary
- West Cornforth Primary School Primary
- Ferryhill School Secondary
- Aycliffe Secure Centre Other types
- The Woodlands Local authority maintained schools
Common questions
- What ages does Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School teach?
- Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Ferryhill.
- Who is the headteacher of Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School is Mr Craig Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School?
- Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School has 181 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School full?
- Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 262 pupils and 181 on roll (69%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- No. Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School has no designated religious character.
- Does Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- How have Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 52% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School ranked 145th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.