School Chooser

Acre Rigg Infant School

Primary · ages 2-7MixedCouncil252 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubPeterleeCounty Durham
School Chooser Score
32
Below
similar schools
Likely range 14 to 60, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 47% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
#10,955 of 16,041 in England#123 in County DurhamHow it is worked out
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, May 2026
Attendance94.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families48%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull252 pupils, 189 places
Pupils per teacher19.2School workforce census
Pupils on roll252Census January 2026

Acre Rigg Infant School is a council school in Peterlee for boys and girls aged 2 to 7. It has 252 pupils, 63 more than it has places for. About 48 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 32 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 47% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Acre Rigg Road, Peterlee, SR8 2DU0191 586 4437acrerigg-inf.durham.sch.ukMrs Kate Longstaff headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 12 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
11 May 2022UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full187 pupils for 192 places, 2024/25
97% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to County Durham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll252Census January 2026
Places189133% full
Pupils from low-income families52%48% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support23%59 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%10 pupils with a plan
Average class size16.712 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)51%£145,700 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls125 / 127
White British pupils93%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (39), Autistic spectrum disorder (22), emotional and mental health (8).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll252259277279295292
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals52%50%38%56%54%47%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%4%3%3%3%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–24%28%23%18%20%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–3%2%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school20.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.7%6.2%8.0%8.7%4.1%6.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.0%4.2%5.5%6.5%2.7%4.3%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%2.0%2.6%2.3%1.4%1.9%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence20.9%13.4%24.1%37.6%9.0%14.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0––
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000––

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers11.8full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher19.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants17.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,089
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.82024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,481England £7,738. Total £2.0m
Income per pupil£8,740England £7,697. Total £2.0m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,336England £3,480
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £140k, £606 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£60kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,481spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m39012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate118 per 1,000 people30% higher than the England average
Typical house price£143,000County Durham
Nearest bus stop100 mFranklyn Road, 24 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Acre Rigg AcademyAcademy20 m257Good 202315Compare
Howletch Lane Primary SchoolCouncil950 m382No overall grade 20245Compare
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles191Good 202377Compare
Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles99No overall grade 2024–Compare
Shotton Hall Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles350Not inspected68Compare
Easington CofE Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles167Report card 202667Compare
Dene House Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles303Good 202223Compare
Easington Colliery Primary SchoolCouncil1.5 miles525Good 202360Compare
Primary schools in County DurhamPrimary schools in PeterleeBest primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Acre Rigg Infant School with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats47%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 32 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 33 · highest 93100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Acre Rigg Infant School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Blackhall Primary SchoolCouncil2.5 miles310Good 202354Compare
Easington Lane Primary SchoolCouncil4.4 miles281Good 202342Compare
Seaview Primary SchoolCouncil4.6 miles256Good 202458Compare
West Cornforth Primary SchoolCouncil8.1 miles251No overall grade 202554Compare
Shiney Row Primary SchoolCouncil9.0 miles249Good 202262Compare
Albany Village Primary SchoolCouncil12.3 miles214Good 202342Compare
Greenland Community Primary SchoolAcademy15.5 miles318Not inspected93Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 32 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 32% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 14 to 60. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
–
Ofsted inspection20%in line
-0.07
Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
–
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.02
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.18
2024/25; 139 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
–
What parents say0%no data
–

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Acre Rigg Infant School a good school?

The figures are weak. Acre Rigg Infant School scores 32 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 47% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 14 to 60, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Acre Rigg Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 12 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as as expected.

How many pupils does Acre Rigg Infant School have?

252 pupils aged 2 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 189 places, so it is 133% full.

Is Acre Rigg Infant School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Acre Rigg Infant School?

Pupils were in school 94.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 21% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Acre Rigg Infant School?

The average class had 16.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Acre Rigg Infant School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Acre Rigg Road, Peterlee, SR8 2DU
Telephone
0191 586 4437
Website
www.acrerigg-inf.durham.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Kate Longstaff
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-7, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
County Durham
Ward
Peterlee
Constituency
Easington
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
114154 · LAESTAB 8402540 · UKPRN 10076460
Official recordOfsted reportsGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from