Plains Farm Academy
Academy sponsor led primary school in Sunderland (Sunderland).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
iWritten by WhatSchool from official school data (Get Information about Schools, DfE and Ofsted).Plains Farm Academy is a primary school located in Sunderland. The school caters for boys and girls aged 3 to 11 and currently has 176 pupils on roll, with a capacity of 240. It is part of the INSPIRE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. The school is led by Miss Lesley Cassidy.
Enrichment
8 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Choir
- Cooking
- Dance
- Music
- Netball
- Sewing
- Woodwork
- Forest School
Awards
3 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Anti-Bullying CharterRecognised award
- Eco SchoolsEnvironment
- International School AwardRecognised award
Key facts
- URN
- 139389
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2013
Governing body (11 current, 0 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.2 governors are linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Stephen Ruffell Confirmed same person | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Byers | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mrs Agnes Rowntree | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mr Edmund Dent | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mr Liam Clark | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mr Andy Hunter | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Bethan Onwuka | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Laura Gregson | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr Stephen Ruffell Confirmed same person | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Michelle Barrass | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Miss Lesley Cassidy Confirmed same person | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2016 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record