Barbara Priestman Academy
- Special
- Academy special converter
- Ages 11 to 19
URN 138530 · Sunderland · THE ASCENT ACADEMIES' TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest graded inspection
28 January 2015Overall effectiveness
Good
Under the earlier framework, inspections gave an overall effectiveness grade.
Ungraded inspection
27 March 2024“School remains Good”
An ungraded inspection checks that the school is still at the standard of its last graded inspection. It does not give a new grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against Sunderland and England, special schools.
Overall absence
2024/2513.6%
- Sunderland
- 14.6%
- England
- 12.8%
0.8 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 6.9% | 11.0% | 10.2% |
| 2018/19 | 7.1% | 10.9% | 10.1% |
| 2020/21 | 7.1% | 16.2% | 15.2% |
| 2021/22 | 10.8% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| 2022/23 | 13.8% | 14.6% | 13.0% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 15.4% | 13.0% |
| 2024/25 | 13.6% | 14.6% | 12.8% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/2543.0%
- Sunderland
- 34.2%
- England
- 35.3%
7.7 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 18.1% | 28.3% | 29.6% |
| 2018/19 | 22.9% | 28.0% | 28.8% |
| 2020/21 | 24.4% | 49.5% | 48.9% |
| 2021/22 | 35.2% | 41.7% | 40.4% |
| 2022/23 | 33.9% | 37.4% | 38.3% |
| 2023/24 | 36.9% | 38.6% | 37.2% |
| 2024/25 | 43.0% | 34.2% | 35.3% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/256.3%
- Sunderland
- 9.4%
- England
- 6.9%
0.6 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 1.1% | 5.7% | 4.4% |
| 2018/19 | 0.0% | 8.0% | 4.6% |
| 2020/21 | 0.8% | 7.9% | 5.6% |
| 2021/22 | 3.1% | 8.7% | 5.8% |
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 9.2% | 6.2% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 9.8% | 6.7% |
| 2024/25 | 6.3% | 9.4% | 6.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against Sunderland and England, special schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/250.53
- Sunderland
- 35.61
- England
- 12.32
11.79 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.00 | 11.31 | 12.34 |
| 2018/19 | 0.00 | 13.62 | 11.32 |
| 2019/20 | 0.00 | 12.13 | 7.76 |
| 2020/21 | 0.60 | 16.25 | 7.29 |
| 2021/22 | 1.15 | 28.30 | 9.60 |
| 2022/23 | 0.59 | 26.12 | 10.99 |
| 2023/24 | 0.58 | 57.24 | 12.62 |
| 2024/25 | 0.53 | 35.61 | 12.32 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/250.00
- Sunderland
- 0.00
- England
- 0.08
0.08 lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.07 |
| 2018/19 | 0.00 | 0.28 | 0.06 |
| 2019/20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.04 |
| 2020/21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2021/22 | 0.00 | 0.11 | 0.05 |
| 2022/23 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.08 |
| 2023/24 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.08 |
| 2024/25 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 4 results
Against Sunderland and England, secondary schools.
Attainment 8
2025/26 (provisional)0.7
Not compared with mainstream schools.
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| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 3.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.7 |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 0.7 |
The average of pupils' points across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 4 or above
2025/26 (provisional)0%
Not compared with mainstream schools.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 4% |
| 2024/25 | 4% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 0% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 4 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 5 or above
2025/26 (provisional)0%
Not compared with mainstream schools.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 0% |
| 2024/25 | 4% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 0% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
Pupils
Against Sunderland and England, special schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/2557.9%
- Sunderland
- 59.4%
- England
- 48.8%
9.1 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 55.7% | 54.9% | 44.4% |
| 2022/23 | 54.7% | 55.0% | 45.6% |
| 2023/24 | 55.2% | 55.3% | 47.1% |
| 2024/25 | 57.9% | 59.4% | 48.8% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/250.0%
- Sunderland
- 0.7%
- England
- 0.5%
0.5 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| 2022/23 | 0.0% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| 2023/24 | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0.7% |
| 2024/25 | 0.0% | 0.7% | 0.5% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/25100.0%
- Sunderland
- 99.3%
- England
- 99.5%
0.5 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 100.0% | 99.2% | 99.1% |
| 2022/23 | 100.0% | 98.7% | 99.2% |
| 2023/24 | 100.0% | 99.0% | 99.3% |
| 2024/25 | 100.0% | 99.3% | 99.5% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/251.1%
- Sunderland
- 5.4%
- England
- 14.4%
13.3 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 1.1% | 5.4% | 14.5% |
| 2022/23 | 1.2% | 6.1% | 14.4% |
| 2023/24 | 1.2% | 5.5% | 14.4% |
| 2024/25 | 1.1% | 5.4% | 14.4% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against Sunderland and England, special schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/266.9
- Sunderland
- 6.7
- England
- 7.3
0.4 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| 2018/19 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 6.8 |
| 2019/20 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.0 |
| 2020/21 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| 2021/22 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 6.9 |
| 2022/23 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.0 |
| 2023/24 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.1 |
| 2024/25 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.3 |
| 2025/26 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.3 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/2510.6 days
- Sunderland
- 5.6 days
- England
- 5.0 days
5.6 days higher than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 5.2 days | 5.0 days | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | 2.8 days | 5.4 days | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | 5.7 days | 4.8 days | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | 14.7 days | 6.5 days | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 7.1 days | 5.9 days | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 13.6 days | 6.1 days | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 10.6 days | 5.6 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 189
- Capacity
- 178
- Type
- Academy special converter
- Phase
- Special
- Age range
- 11 to 19
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ASCENT ACADEMIES' TRUST
- Opened
- 1 August 2012
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Special educational needs provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 8 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Address: Meadowside, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR2 7QN
Website: www.barbara-priestman.org.uk
Telephone: 03339991453
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
Spotted something wrong? Report a correction with the school’s URN (138530). Fixes go out in the next weekly release.