Above the national average: Borough's schools and early years settings are flying high

Schools and childcare settings across Stockton-on-Tees continue to show a "strong overall performance", reports have revealed.

Figures show that 95 per cent of primary schools in the area are rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by Ofsted, which is higher than in 2023 (93 per cent) and above the average in England.

The Borough's children also achieved a 69.5 per cent 'Good Level of Development', comfortably higher than the national average of 67.7per cent.

And 81.2 per cent of Year 1 children are meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check, ranking them above the national average of 80.3 per cent.

The Borough's primary schools also continue to perform well in Key Stage 2, with 63 per cent of children reaching the expected standard for Reading, Writing and Maths, compared to the 61 per cent national average.

In secondary schools, 69.1 per cent of pupils achieved a 9-4 grade in English and Maths, which is expected to be higher than national averages, while post-16 A-Level passes are at 97.7 per cent.

And early years figures in a report on childcare sufficiency also showed that 100 per cent of group childcare settings in Stockton-on-Tees are rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding'.

The report sets out the ways in which the Council is providing childcare provision and follows the roll-out of new entitlements for 15 hours of funded childcare for parents of children aged nine months to two years old, rising to 30 hours in September 2025.

More than 200 additional childcare places have been created at early years care providers across the Borough.

And the Council has also received Department for Education funding to increase the supply of wraparound care between 8am to 6pm so that more parents of primary school age children can access childcare between working hours.

The reports were considered by the Council's Cabinet yesterday, Thursday, 17 October.

Councillor Lisa Evans, the Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said: "Every parent wants their child to receive an excellent education, and I am incredibly proud to see that performance figures in these reports exceed the provisional national average.

"It's hugely important that pupils can learn in nurturing and inspiring environments so I would like to thank our school leaders, staff, pupils, parents, carers and governors and care providers who work so hard collectively to achieve these results.

"We also recognise how important childcare can be for working families and I'm very pleased that we're able to provide sufficient childcare places to assist parents and carers in employment, training or education.

"Despite these really encouraging results, we know we must not be complacent and will continue to support the Borough's children in any way we can.

"That also applies to supporting parents with childcare needs so they can balance their professional and family life around their working hours."

The performance results and childcare provisions also have a positive impact on business owners, staff and their families who live and work in the Borough - including Debbie Rollins from Thornaby engineering services business, MJR Power and Automation.

She added: "From a business perspective it's fantastic to see such positive results because good schools and childcare are a huge draw for families who want to live and work here or are considering setting up business.

"The secondary and post-16 results are particularly encouraging to see. For businesses like ours which have invested in the Borough, these results mean that school leavers have the confidence, skills and qualifications to start their career or take on an apprenticeship, as many have done at MJR Power through our apprenticeship schemes.

"We're always keen to give local young people opportunities, whether that's through training or employment - but it also means that staff joining us from outside of Stockton-on-Tees can give their children an excellent education here - and of course, the range of high-quality childcare options on offer allow parents and carers to work flexibly around their families' needs."