School Chooser

Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 6-14MixedPupil referral unit38 pupilsCramlingtonNorthumberland
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, February 2020
Pupils from low-income families68%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull38 pupils, 32 places
Pupils per teacher5.0School workforce census
Pupils on roll38Census January 2026

Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit is a pupil referral unit in Cramlington for boys and girls aged 6 to 14. It has 38 pupils, 6 more than it has places for. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2020.

Pit Lane, Front Street, Cramlington, NE23 7EB01670 719529pru.northumberland.sch.ukMr Richard Carr headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 6 February 2020, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 14 May 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
14 May 2025UngradedStandards maintained

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

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 Northumberland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll38Census January 2026
Places32119% full
Pupils from low-income families68%68% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support82%31 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan13%5 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)53%£22,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls28 / 10
White British pupils95%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (18), emotional and mental health (9), Specific learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll3831352122
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals68%55%80%76%0%50%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%0%0%5%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support68%89%91%100%50%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans7%3%5%0%50%

Staff and money

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

Teachers12.8full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher5.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants7.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£57,408
Teachers who left in the year12%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.62024/25

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£37,174England £7,738. Total £1.9m
Income per pupil£32,753England £7,697. Total £1.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£19,406England £3,480
Money in reserve-32%In the red: -£536k, -£11k per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£225kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£37,174spent 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 m10712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate92 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop360 mBlake Arms, 3 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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Seghill First SchoolCouncil430 m105Good 202433Compare
Seaton Delaval First SchoolCouncil0.7 miles161Good 202253Compare
Seaton Valley High SchoolCouncil1.2 miles656Not inspected33Compare
Whytrig Middle SchoolCouncil1.2 miles330Report card 20267Compare
Cragside CofE Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England1.3 miles336Good 202263Compare
Ss Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary AcademyAcademy1.5 miles189Good 202364Compare
New Hartley First SchoolCouncil1.6 miles165No overall grade 202570Compare
Fordley Primary SchoolFoundation1.7 miles377No overall grade 202440Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit a good school?

Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2020.

What is Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit good at its last full inspection on 6 February 2020. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How many pupils does Northumberland Pupil Referral Unit have?

38 pupils aged 6 to 14 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 32 places, so it is 119% full.

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

Contact and details

Address
Pit Lane, Front Street, Cramlington, NE23 7EB
Telephone
01670 719529
Website
www.pru.northumberland.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Richard Carr
Type of school
Pupil referral unit (Pupil referral unit, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 6-14
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Seghill with Seaton Delaval
Constituency
Cramlington and Killingworth
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 1998
URN
132130 · LAESTAB 9291100 · UKPRN 10016697

Where these figures come from