Springfield Academy
Salters Lane South, Darlington, DL1 2AN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE EDUCATION VILLAGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Chief Executive
- Mrs Paula Austin
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 236
- URN
- 138088
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325248153
About this school
Springfield Academy is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 236 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 32 | 28 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 57% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 64% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 61% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 61% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 100.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 99.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Springfield Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Darlington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 232 |
| 2023/24 | 233 |
| 2024/25 | 237 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Springfield Academy compares
Springfield Academy ranked 3rd of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 5.2% | 42.1% | 236 | — |
| Whinfield Primary School | 68% | 4.7% | 19.3% | 433 | 0.4 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | 64% | 4.2% | 15.4% | 322 | 0.6 miles |
| Red Hall Primary School | 25% | 8.8% | 60.7% | 207 | 0.6 miles |
| Gurney Pease Academy | 73% | 7.3% | 54.7% | 191 | 0.6 miles |
| Northwood Primary School | 56% | 7.4% | 45% | 429 | 0.8 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report28 April 2026
- 17 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 42.11%
- English as an additional language
- 3%
- Overall absence
- 5.19%
- Persistent absence
- 14.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Whinfield Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Bede's Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Red Hall Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Gurney Pease Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Northwood Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Springfield Academy ranks 6th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Corporation Road Community Primary School Primary
- Croft Church of England Primary School Primary
- Firthmoor Primary School Primary
- Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool Primary
- Gurney Pease Academy Primary
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School Primary
- Heathfield Primary School Primary
- High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Hurworth Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Springfield Academy teach?
- Springfield Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the chief executive of Springfield Academy?
- The chief executive of Springfield Academy is Mrs Paula Austin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Springfield Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Springfield Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Springfield Academy?
- Springfield Academy has 236 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Springfield Academy full?
- Springfield Academy has capacity for 236 pupils and 236 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Springfield Academy a faith school?
- No. Springfield Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Springfield Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Springfield Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Springfield Academy?
- Springfield Academy is part of THE EDUCATION VILLAGE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Springfield Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Springfield Academy rank locally?
- Springfield Academy ranked 3rd of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Springfield Academy's absence rate?
- Springfield Academy's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Springfield Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Springfield Academy'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 15 July 2026.