Ashfield Junior School

Ashfield Junior School has been rated as 'Requires Improvement' overall in its latest inspection, reflecting challenges primarily in the quality of education and leadership. While the school fosters a supportive environment where pupils feel happy and engaged, it faces significant hurdles in ensuring consistent achievement in foundational skills like reading and mathematics. Recent strategies have been implemented to strengthen these areas, but inconsistencies remain in curriculum delivery and assessment practices that need addressing. Among the school's strengths, the behaviour and attitudes of the pupils are commendable, contributing positively to the school atmosphere. The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has highlighted effective practices, especially in the specially resourced provision. Nonetheless, there is a pressing need for the school to develop more robust structures for monitoring its curriculum and improving outcomes for all students, particularly in reading.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and proud to attend the school.
• Staff provide support and listen to pupils' concerns effectively.
• Pupils demonstrate good behaviour and consideration for others.
• The specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND is effective.
• Opportunities for personal development and contribution to the community are strong.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent achievement in reading and mathematics.
• Lack of a well-designed and structured reading curriculum.
• Variation in the delivery of phonics instruction leading to uneven learning.
• Insufficient monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum's impact.

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 Ashfield Junior School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.7% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Ashfield Junior 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 Ashfield Junior School had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Ashfield Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Ashfield Junior School received £7,493 and spent £7,862 for each of its 255 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £39,000 (-£154 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 Workington · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Ashfield Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ashfield Junior School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Ashfield Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ashfield Junior School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Ashfield Junior School have?

Ashfield Junior School has 254 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ashfield Junior School cover?

Ashfield Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Ashfield Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ashfield Junior School?

Ashfield Junior School is at High Street, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 4ES.