New Penshaw Academy
Langdale Road, New Penshaw, Houghton le Spring, DH4 7HY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INSPIRE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Stephanie Johnson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Inspire Multi Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 112
- URN
- 139391
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913854298
About this school
New Penshaw Academy is a primary academy in Houghton le Spring. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 112 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
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 | 17 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 65% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 71% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 71% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 71% | 54% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.90 | - | - |
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 New Penshaw 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 | Sunderland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 150 |
| 2023/24 | 145 |
| 2024/25 | 138 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How New Penshaw Academy compares
New Penshaw Academy ranked 58th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 7.6% | 48.7% | 112 | — |
| Barnwell Academy | 63% | 3.7% | 21.5% | 302 | 0.3 miles |
| Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw | 67% | 3.8% | 12.7% | 291 | 0.4 miles |
| Shiney Row Primary School | 71% | 6.8% | 48.8% | 249 | 0.7 miles |
| Fatfield Academy | 74% | 5% | 20% | 233 | 1.1 miles |
| Bournmoor Primary School | 65% | 6.2% | 40.3% | 66 | 1.6 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)
- 48.74%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.61%
- Persistent absence
- 22.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Barnwell Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw0.4 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Shiney Row Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Fatfield Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Bournmoor Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
Other schools in Houghton le Spring
New Penshaw Academy ranks 14th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Houghton le Spring.
- Barnwell Academy Primary
- Bernard Gilpin Primary School Primary
- Bournmoor Primary School Primary
- Burnside Academy Inspires Primary
- Dubmire Primary Primary
- Easington Lane Primary School Primary
- East Rainton Primary School Primary
- Eppleton Academy Primary School Primary
- Gillas Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Hetton Lyons Primary School Primary
- Hetton Primary School Primary
- Newbottle Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does New Penshaw Academy teach?
- New Penshaw Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Houghton le Spring.
- Who is the headteacher of New Penshaw Academy?
- The headteacher of New Penshaw Academy is Mrs Stephanie Johnson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was New Penshaw Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected New Penshaw 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 New Penshaw Academy?
- New Penshaw Academy has 112 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is New Penshaw Academy full?
- New Penshaw Academy has capacity for 240 pupils and 112 on roll (47%), 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 New Penshaw Academy a faith school?
- No. New Penshaw Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does New Penshaw Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records New Penshaw Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs New Penshaw Academy?
- New Penshaw Academy is part of INSPIRE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does New Penshaw Academy have?
- The schools register lists New Penshaw Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have New Penshaw Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does New Penshaw Academy rank locally?
- New Penshaw Academy ranked 58th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is New Penshaw Academy's absence rate?
- New Penshaw Academy's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are New Penshaw Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, New Penshaw 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 1 July 2026.