Goodly Dale Primary School

Goodly Dale Primary School is a small, friendly community school where pupils are happy, feel safe and achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Inspectors found a strong sense of family and belonging, positive behaviour, effective safeguarding and a broad, ambitious curriculum that meets pupils' needs. Reading is central to the curriculum, early years children settle quickly and are well prepared for Year 1, and pupils benefit from a wide range of wider opportunities and leadership roles. The school's main areas for improvement are in curriculum detail and assessment. In a small number of subjects, leaders have not clearly set out the key knowledge and skills pupils should learn in each year, so pupils do not remember as much as they should. In some subjects, assessment systems are not fully developed, meaning teachers do not always identify and address gaps or misunderstandings promptly enough. Attendance is beginning to improve, and leaders are working closely with families to overcome barriers.

Strengths

• Extremely caring staff create a strong sense of family and belonging
• Pupils are confident, happy and feel safe in a supportive atmosphere
• Pupils, including those with SEND, typically achieve well
• Pupils behave well and are respectful and inclusive of others
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious and meets pupils' needs
• Early years children settle quickly and are well prepared for Year 1
• Reading is at the heart of the curriculum, with a well-structured phonics programme
• Pupils with SEND are identified robustly and supported very well in lessons
• Personal development is well planned, with a range of trips, clubs and leadership roles
• Staff feel well supported, and leaders and governors ensure their work has a positive impact
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the key knowledge and skills pupils should learn in each year
• In some subjects, assessment systems are not fully developed, so teachers cannot accurately check missing or insecure knowledge
• Some pupils' gaps and misunderstandings are not addressed promptly enough, so their learning is not secure
• Attendance is only beginning to improve and remains an ongoing focus

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 Goodly Dale Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.4% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Goodly Dale 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 Goodly Dale Primary School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.3% 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, 27.3% of pupils at Goodly Dale Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 Goodly Dale Primary School received £8,617 and spent £8,420 for each of its 75 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £20,000 (£271 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 Westmorland And Furness · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

What is Goodly Dale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Goodly Dale Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Goodly Dale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Goodly Dale Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Goodly Dale Primary School have?

Goodly Dale Primary School has 77 pupils on roll.

What age range does Goodly Dale Primary School cover?

Goodly Dale Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Goodly Dale Primary School?

Goodly Dale Primary School is at Lake Road, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 2JX.