Moresby Primary School

Moresby Primary School continues to demonstrate good performance with high expectations for both learning and behavior among pupils. The school fosters a welcoming environment where students feel safe, and they are encouraged to engage in a wide array of extracurricular activities that promote their confidence and self-esteem. Notably, leaders have crafted an ambitious curriculum with careful sequencing to aid knowledge retention, benefiting a diverse student body including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Despite its strengths, the school faces challenges in a limited number of subjects where effective curriculum delivery is inconsistent, particularly in mixed-age classes. The leadership acknowledges these areas for improvement and is committed to providing additional training for staff to enhance teaching effectiveness across the board. Overall, Moresby Primary School exemplifies a nurturing educational environment, yet it recognizes the need for further development in certain curricular areas.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy coming to school and build strong relationships with peers.
• Leaders have high expectations for learning and behavior.
• The school offers a broad range of extracurricular activities.
• Teachers have the expertise needed to teach the curriculum effectively.
• The phonics curriculum is well-structured and supports early reading.
• Pupils are well-behaved and demonstrate respect and politeness.
• Leaders foster a calm and happy environment for pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, staff are not adequately supported to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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 Moresby Primary School attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.2% 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 Moresby 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 Moresby Primary School had 24.4 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, 4.9% of pupils at Moresby 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 Moresby Primary School received £6,840 and spent £6,984 for each of its 122 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £35,000 (£287 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 Whitehaven · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Moresby Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Moresby Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Moresby Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Moresby Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Moresby Primary School have?

Moresby Primary School has 122 pupils on roll.

What age range does Moresby Primary School cover?

Moresby Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Moresby Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Moresby Primary School?

Moresby Primary School is at School Brow, Moresby Parks, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8UX.