Greystoke Primary School

Greystoke Primary School is a small primary school with 55 pupils on roll, much smaller than average. It was inspected in April 2026 under Ofsted's renewed framework, and safeguarding standards are met. The school is performing strongly overall, with most areas at expected standard and attendance and behaviour a particular strength. Pupils achieve well over time, and published outcomes are above national averages, although small cohorts mean some data is suppressed. The school has a warm, family-like culture where pupils feel safe, behave well and attend regularly. Strengths include a well-established phonics and early reading programme, a logical and engaging curriculum, strong personal development, and effective leadership and governance. Pupils are proud of their school, take on responsibilities, and benefit from a wide range of experiences, including arts, sport and residential visits. Staff know pupils and families well, and inclusion support helps pupils with barriers to access the full curriculum. There are still areas to improve. Some pupils who face barriers to learning, including those with SEND, move on to new topics before gaps in their writing knowledge are fully addressed. These pupils can continue to make frequent errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar and sentence construction, and some gaps in reading and writing go unchecked. In the early years, some planned questions and activities are not matched closely enough to children's individual needs. Support plans for pupils with SEND also need greater precision. Leaders have identified these priorities for the next stage of the school's development.

Strengths

• Pupils behave positively, showing self-discipline, respect and courtesy.
• Attendance is strong, with persistent absence reduced through swift leader action.
• The school provides a warm, caring and welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and known.
• Early reading and phonics are well established and taught consistently.
• The curriculum is engaging, logically sequenced and helps pupils connect new learning.
• Published outcomes are above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Personal development is well thought out, with a wide range of experiences and strong PSHE.
• Staff know pupils and families well and provide effective inclusion support.
• Leadership has a clear rationale for teaching and supports staff wellbeing.
• Governance meets statutory duties and provides appropriate challenge and support.
• Early years provision gives children a caring, language-rich start to school.
• Pupils take on responsibilities and older pupils support younger pupils.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils with barriers to learning move on to new topics before gaps in knowledge are fully addressed.
• Some pupils continue to make frequent errors in punctuation and spelling when writing.
• For some pupils, gaps in reading and writing skills persist and go unchecked by staff.
• Support plans for pupils with SEND require greater precision.
• In early years, some planned questions and activities are not matched closely enough to children's individual needs.
• Some pupils with barriers do not make the progress they could.

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 Greystoke Primary School attended 97.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.6% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Greystoke 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 Greystoke Primary School had 18.3 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, 3.9% of pupils at Greystoke Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Greystoke Primary School received £9,741 and spent £10,077 for each of its 51 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £3,000 (-£62 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 Penrith · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

What is Greystoke Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Greystoke Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Greystoke Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Greystoke Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Greystoke Primary School have?

Greystoke Primary School has 51 pupils on roll.

What age range does Greystoke Primary School cover?

Greystoke Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Greystoke Primary School?

Greystoke Primary School is at Icold Road, Greystoke, Greystoke School, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0TP.