SCHOOL PROFILE

Valley Gardens Middle School

Middle deemed secondary Foundation school URN 108636
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 771 Published school capacity
Capacity used 99.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 9 – 13 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

19 November 2024
Latest published outcome Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education Outstanding
Behaviour & attitudes Outstanding
Personal development Outstanding
Leadership & management Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Foundation school
Phase Middle deemed secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority North Tyneside
Trust The North Tyneside Learning Trust
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 768 768 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 397 51.7% of pupils
Male pupils 371 48.3% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

6.0%
18.8 pts below England
School 6.0%
North Tyneside 26.6%
North East 32.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

2.2%
18.1 pts below England
School 2.2%
North Tyneside 6.5%
North East 10.0%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

3.8%
2.8 pts above England
School 3.8%
North Tyneside 2.4%
North East 0.9%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
91.0%
699
Any other White background
2.3%
18
Any other Mixed background
2.1%
16
White and Asian
1.8%
14
Chinese
0.8%
6
Indian
0.7%
5
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 13.2% 101 of 768 pupils
7.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.2%
North Tyneside 22.5%
North East 22.6%
England 20.8%
SEN support 11.2% 86 pupils
England 14.8% 3.6 pts below
EHC plans 2.0% 15 pupils
England 6.0% 4.1 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Specific learning difficulty 42
Social, emotional & mental health 23
Speech, language & communication 17
Autistic spectrum disorder 9
Physical disability 3
No specialist assessment yet 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

72.0% 11.6 pts above England
School 72.0%
North Tyneside 58.7%
North East 61.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

90.0%

16.2 pts above England

School 90.0%
North Tyneside 72.6%
North East 73.1%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

77.0%

6.7 pts above England

School 77.0%
North Tyneside 68.1%
North East 71.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

85.0%

13.0 pts above England

School 85.0%
North Tyneside 70.2%
North East 72.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.11%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.11 pts lower than England
School 4.11%
North Tyneside 5.96%
North East 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

6.20%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

9.61 pts lower than England
School 6.20%
North Tyneside 14.65%
North East 16.04%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.03%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.77 pts lower than England
School 1.03%
North Tyneside 1.56%
North East 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open middle deemed secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

99.6% 9.8 pts above England
Valley Gardens Middle School
99.6%
North Tyneside
86.1%
North East
84.6%
England
89.8%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information