Great Orton Primary School

Great Orton Primary School has made significant improvements since its last inspection and is now classified as 'Good' in all areas of performance. The school offers a nurturing environment where pupils feel proud to belong and demonstrate strong behaviour and positive attitudes towards learning. The leadership has effectively introduced a new, well-organized curriculum designed to cater to mixed-age classes, ensuring that all pupils achieve well and receive necessary support, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, the school faces challenges with gaps in knowledge among older pupils in some subjects and a limited selection of books for their reading development.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, friendly, and respectful.
• High expectations of pupil behaviour lead to minimal disruption in lessons.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND enables them to succeed.
• Curriculum improvements are leading to better achievement.
• Strong emphasis on developing reading skills in early education.
• Pupils engage in a range of extracurricular activities and events.

Areas for Improvement

• Older pupils lack access to a wide range of high-quality reading materials.
• Some subjects have newly implemented curricula that do not yet provide deep learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Great Orton Primary School attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 3.0% of pupils at Great Orton Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Great Orton Primary School had 11.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.0% of pupils at Great Orton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Great Orton Primary School received £14,597 and spent £14,911 for each of its 35 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £44,000 (£1,268 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Carlisle · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Great Orton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Orton Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Great Orton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Orton Primary School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Great Orton Primary School have?

Great Orton Primary School has 35 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Orton Primary School cover?

Great Orton Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Great Orton Primary School?

Great Orton Primary School is at Great Orton, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA5 6NA.