Cambois Primary School near Blyth in Northumberland has been placed into special measures by Ofsted after inspectors found that children are not being kept safe and have major gaps in their learning. The watchdog said the school is in need of urgent improvement, having “declined significantly” since its last visit.
Leadership and safeguarding criticised
Ofsted published a scathing report on the school’s leadership and governors, stating that they “do not carry out their safeguarding responsibilities well enough”. Inspectors also criticised a “lack of a coherent curriculum and poor teaching”, including failures to ensure pupils are adequately supervised and to provide suitable support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The report says many staff “do not have high expectations of pupils' behaviour” and that offensive language, throwing objects and talking loudly over the teacher’s voice is “commonplace”. It also raises concerns about incidents of bullying and some pupils hurting others.
Staff absence and leadership turbulence
The Chronicle understands that the school’s headteacher, Marianne Allan, is currently suspended. Ofsted’s inspectors pointed to “significant staff absence and turbulence in leadership” affecting the day-to-day running of the school, but said recent changes in leadership had been welcomed and “raised morale”.
Following a two-day inspection in September, inspectors wrote: “Pupils do not consistently experience high-quality education and support in an environment where they are kept safe and can thrive. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Not enough is expected of them. Pupils have wide gaps in their knowledge of reading, writing and mathematics. These gaps are not closing quickly. Disadvantaged pupils, including some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not receive the support that they need to progress from their starting points. Overall, many pupils do not gain the knowledge they need for the next stage of their education.”
The report adds: “Leaders and governors do not carry out their safeguarding responsibilities well enough. They do not make sure that pupils, especially those who are vulnerable and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the support that they need to stay safe in school.”
Low attainment and next steps
According to the report, only 49% of Cambois Primary pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths over the past three years, compared with a 61% national average. Ofsted rated the school as needing urgent improvement in all seven areas it measures.
As recently as February 2025, the watchdog had delivered a positive verdict on Cambois Primary, saying then that pupils “are happy and feel safe here” and that safeguarding measures were effective. Northumberland County Council said it had put in place a School Improvement Board for Cambois Primary earlier this year and that it is “seeing some green shoots of recovery”.
A council spokesperson said: “We want every child at Cambois Primary School to receive the best start in life and we will do whatever it takes to secure that. We appreciate that it has been a difficult period of time for the young people, parents, carers and staff, and while this OFSTED report is disappointing it was not entirely unexpected.”
“Working with the school we had identified a number of key weaknesses and we are working hard to address them. The recent change in leadership has been welcomed by staff and raised morale, and this gives the school a strong base to move forward from.”
“We are now seeing some green shoots of recovery, with staff and pupil attendance improving and strong leadership from the interim headteacher and local authority driving forward the required change. Moving forward and we will be working with the Department for Education and all partners to discuss options for the future to ensure the best possible outcomes for every pupil. We will be carrying out an informal consultation to look at all of the future options for the school.”
