Summary of Ofsted findings
Summary of Ofsted findings
Inspection of Darlington’s local authority children’s services
These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:
- to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
- the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
- the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
- the experiences and progress of care leavers.
| Inspection type | Inspection start date | Overall effectiveness | Impact of leaders | Help and protection | Children in care | Care leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILACS Short Inspection | 9 February 2026 | Outstanding | Outstanding | Good | Outstanding | Outstanding |
| ILACS Standard Inspection | 10 October 2022 | Good | Good | Good | Outstanding | No outcome |
Area SEND inspection of Darlington Local Area Partnership
The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:
- provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
- where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
| Inspection outcome |
|---|
|
Darlington was last inspected on 25 November 2024. The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements. They were given no areas for priority action. The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 3 years. Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report. |
Joint targeted area inspection of Darlington local authority
The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.
| Theme | Inspection start date | Link |
|---|---|---|
| There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority. | ||
Ofsted inspection reports and tools
Local authority context
| Population 18 and under | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 24,044 | 21.4% |
| National | 12,869,368 | 22.0% |
| Children looked after | Number | Rate per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 266 | 117 |
| National | 81,770 | 67 |
| School-age pupils eligible for free school meals | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 4,534 | 29.4% |
| National | 2,085,168 | 26.7% |
| School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 5,304 | 35.2% |
| National | 2,266,608 | 29.3% |
| Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 3,417 | 21.0% |
| National | 1,766,924 | 19.6% |
| School-age pupils with English as an additional language | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 1,669 | 10.3% |
| National | 1,806,029 | 21.4% |
| % of children in income-deprived families (IDACI) | Average % |
|---|---|
| Darlington | 38.0% |
| National | 38.0% |
| Health Index (children and young people) | Health Index score |
|---|---|
| Darlington | 94.7 |
| National | 100.8 |
More details about the health index metric
Indicates the health of an area measured in three domains: Healthy People, Health Lives and Healthy Places.
A score of 100 represents health in England in 2015. A higher number means better health and a lower number means worse health.
Remit overview
Contents
Early years
| Population | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 5 years | 6,745 | 6.0% | 6.4% |
| Aged 0 | 1,056 | 0.9% | 1.0% |
| Aged 1 | 1,042 | 0.9% | 1.0% |
| Aged 2 | 1,129 | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Aged 3 | 1,134 | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Aged 4 | 1,188 | 1.1% | 1.1% |
| Aged 5 | 1,196 | 1.1% | 1.1% |
| Disadvantaged | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early years pupil premium | 260 | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| Children looked after (under 1 year) | 9 | 0.9% | 0.6% |
| Children looked after (1 to 4 years) | 26 | 0.6% | 0.4% |
Data sources:
| Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) / Education, health and care plans (EHCP) |
Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEN support in state-funded settings (age 2 and under) | 18 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| SEN support in state-funded settings (age 3) | 53 | 4.7% | 3.7% |
| SEN support in state-funded settings (age 4) | 109 | 9.2% | 9.4% |
| SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5) | 140 | 11.7% | 12.1% |
| Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) | 320 | 4.7% | 4.5% |
| Children with an EHCP (age 2 and under) | 4 | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Children with an EHCP (age 3) | 9 | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Children with an EHCP (age 4) | 52 | 4.4% | 3.5% |
| Children with an EHCP (age 5) | 48 | 4.0% | 4.7% |
| Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) | 113 | 1.7% | 1.6% |
Data sources:
| Funded early years places for 2-year-olds | Population aged 2-years-old | Number of eligible 2-year-olds | % of population aged 2 | % take-up of funded places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 1,129 | 333 | 29.5% | 75.4% |
| National | 630,059 | 145,824 | 23.1% | 65.2% |
| Funded early years places for 3-year-olds | Population aged 3-years-old | Number of eligible 3-year-olds | % of population aged 3 | % take-up of funded places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | 1,134 | All 3-year olds are eligible | 92.6% | |
| National | 625,948 | 90.6% | ||
The 2 and 3-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.
| Children's overweight and obesity | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) | 280 | 26.2% | 23.5% |
| Oral health | Number examined in Darlington | % examined in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) | 534 | 47.4% | 25.3% | 22.4% |
Schools
| Population | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington1 | % National1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary-age pupils (ages 5 to 11) | 8,881 | 7.9% | 8.2% |
| Secondary-age pupils (ages 12 to 16) | 7,001 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
| Population of looked-after-children | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington1 | % National1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 5 to 9 | 61 | 1.0% | 0.4% |
| Ages 10 to 15 | 114 | 1.4% | 0.7% |
| Pupils eligible for free schools meals | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 2,303 | 27.8% | 25.3% |
| Secondary | 1,990 | 30.7% | 27.5% |
| Alternative provision | 39 | 61.9% | 64.6% |
| Special | 202 | 52.5% | 49.5% |
| Non-maintained special | – | – | 31.0% |
| Pupils eligible for pupil premium | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 2,350 | 27.5% | 25.1% |
| Secondary | 2,088 | 31.9% | 28.9% |
| Pupils with SEND | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 1,522 | 17.5% | 18.2% |
| Secondary | 1,265 | 18.6% | 16.5% |
| Alternative provision | 63 | 100.0% | 83.4% |
| Special | 411 | 100.0% | 99.9% |
| Non-maintained special | – | – | 99.7% |
| Independent schools | 129 | 100.0% | 24.1% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 991 | 11.4% | 23.4% |
| Secondary | 638 | 9.4% | 19.2% |
| Alternative provision | 0 | 0.0% | 7.6% |
| Special | 20 | 4.9% | 14.5% |
| Non-maintained special | – | – | 11.0% |
| Attendance of all pupils up to week 4 of calendar year | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 94.3% | 95.0% |
| Secondary | 92.1% | 91.8% |
| Special | 90.8% | 87.1% |
| Attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals (summer term 2024/25) | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 91.6% | 91.9% |
| Secondary | 84.3% | 85.2% |
| Special | 91.1% | 85.1% |
| Attendance of pupils with SEND (summer term 2024/25) | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 92.4% | 92.1% |
| Secondary | 84.8% | 84.3% |
| Special | 92.1% | 87.3% |
| Primary attainment: Year 1 phonics screening pass | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | 924 | 78.9% | 79.8% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 147 | 60.7% | 66.6% |
| Pupils with SEND | 82 | 39.4% | 43.4% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 113 | 80.7% | 79.5% |
| Primary attainment: Year 4 times table check (full marks) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | 492 | 39.2% | 36.8% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 134 | 32.9% | 27.4% |
| Pupils with SEND | 37 | 15.0% | 16.5% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 62 | 47.3% | 45.2% |
| Primary attainment: Key stage 2 reading, writing, maths combined (met the expected standard) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | 785 | 62.0% | 62.6% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 222 | 49.1% | 47.7% |
| Pupils with SEND | 66 | 22.6% | 23.8% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 94 | 71.8% | 66.2% |
| Secondary attainment: Attainment 8 | Average in Darlington2 | National average2 |
|---|---|---|
| All pupils | 44.2 | 45.9 |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 31.3 | 35.0 |
| Pupils with SEND | 27.9 | 28.1 |
| Population receiving education outside of their local authority | Number outside of Darlington | % outside of Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 276 | 3.4% | 4.1% |
| Secondary | 244 | 3.7% | 8.7% |
| Special | 22 | 7.6% | 9.0% |
| Children being home educated | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington1 | % National1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 50 | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Secondary | 360 | 5.1% | 2.5% |
| Total | 410 | 2.6% | 1.5% |
More details about the children being home educated numbers
Local authority data in the source dataset has been rounded to the nearest 10. As a result totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.
| Suspensions (from primary school) | Number in Darlington | Rate per 100 pupils in Darlington3 | Rate per 100 pupils National3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of suspensions | 103 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Total pupils with one or more suspensions | 57 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals | 34 | 1.5 (in group) | 1.2 (in group) |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND | 54 | 3.8 (in group) | 2.4 (in group) |
More details about suspensions from state-funded primary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.
| Suspensions (from secondary school) | Number in Darlington | Rate per 100 pupils in Darlington3 | Rate per 100 pupils National3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of suspensions | 811 | 11.9 | 7.8 |
| Total pupils with one or more suspensions | 344 | 5.0 | 3.8 |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals | 222 | 11.0 (in group) | 8.2 (in group) |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND | 148 | 12.0 (in group) | 9.1 (in group) |
More details about suspensions from state-funded secondary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.
| Suspensions (from special school) | Number in Darlington | Rate per 100 pupils in Darlington3 | Rate per 100 pupils National3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of suspensions | 4 | 1.0 | 5.1 |
| Total pupils with one or more suspensions | 3 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals | 3 | 1.4 (in group) | 4.1 (in group) |
| Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND | 3 | 0.7 (in group) | 2.9 (in group) |
More details about suspensions from state-funded special schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.
| Exclusions (from primary school) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of pupils excluded | 2 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pupils with SEND | 2 | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Exclusions (from secondary school) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of pupils excluded | 10 | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 6 | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Pupils with SEND | 3 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Exclusions (from special school) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington2 | % National2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of pupils excluded | 1 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pupils with SEND | 1 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
1. % of all children in Darlington / England.
2. % of all pupils in state-funded settings across Darlington / England.
3. Rate per 100 pupils in state-funded settings across Darlington / England.
Further education and skills
| Population | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 16 to 18 years | 4,004 | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| Aged 19 to 21 years | 2,815 | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| Aged 22 to 24 years | 3,270 | 2.9% | 3.6% |
| Aged 25 years and over | 82,360 | 73.2% | 70.8% |
| Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) | Number in Darlington | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16- to 17-year-olds known to LA | 2,352 | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| NEET | 49 | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| Activity not known | 53 | 2.3% | 2.2% |
| Total NEET or activity not known | 102 | 4.3% | 5.6% |
| 16 to 18 progression to higher education or training | % in Darlington | % National |
|---|---|---|
| Degrees (all) | 67.0% | 66.0% |
| Degrees at top third higher education institutions | 22.0% | 24.0% |
| Higher apprenticeships | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| Other study at level 4 and 5 | 2.0% | 3.0% |
| Progressing to higher education or training | 71.0% | 70.0% |
More details about the further education and skills destinations data
This data reflects the destinations of pupils based on the number on roll when they were aged 16 to 18, tracking where they progressed after completing their studies.
Degree destinations include any study at level 6 or higher such as bachelor degrees, graduate diplomas, and post-graduate degrees. The top third higher education institutions when ranked by average UCAS tariff score of entrants across their best 3 A levels.
Higher apprenticeships are those from level 4 to 7 and are equivalent to a foundation degree and above. Degree apprenticeships are available at levels 6 and 7.
Other study at level 4 or 5 destinations include those students studying qualifications such as foundation degrees, Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs).
Social care
Explore the findings from Ofsted's local authority inspections.
Explore population characteristics for this local authority.