Houghton CofE School

Houghton CofE School is a small Church of England primary school in Carlisle with 183 pupils. Following a full Section 5 inspection in May 2026, safeguarding standards were met and most areas of provision were found to be performing at the expected standard, including attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Achievement is the notable exception and is graded as needing attention. Pupils are happy, safe and behave well. Attendance has improved to close to the national average, and persistent absence is reducing, including for disadvantaged pupils. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, phonics is taught consistently well, and pupils with SEND or disadvantage are increasingly well supported to access the full curriculum. Early years provision is a strength, and pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment, trips and leadership roles. However, historic weaknesses in writing—especially letter formation, punctuation and fluency—have left some pupils with gaps in foundational knowledge, and disadvantaged pupils have achieved less well than disadvantaged pupils nationally. Teaching sometimes moves on before pupils are ready, and expectations for handwriting and grammar are inconsistent in a small number of classes. Governors do not yet receive precise enough information about the impact of the pupil premium strategy. Next steps focus on closely tracking disadvantaged pupils’ progress, embedding work to close writing gaps, and strengthening governance oversight of pupil premium impact.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Attendance is close to the national average and persistent absence is reducing, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils behave well; classrooms and corridors are calm and bullying is rare.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, with clear end points.
• Teaching is typically clear and structured, with secure subject knowledge and effective modelling.
• Phonics is taught consistently well, and early reading is prioritised.
• Early years children settle quickly and benefit from purposeful, well-sequenced learning.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Support staff help pupils learn well and build independence.
• Leaders have an accurate view of the school and act on quality checks.
• Staff benefit from a coherent professional learning programme and feel well supported.
• Pupils understand and live out the school’s Christian values of compassion, respect and responsibility.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain, including online safety and healthy relationships.
• Pupils enjoy a broad range of enrichment activities, trips and leadership roles.
• Pupils feel safe, trust adults, and enjoy coming to school.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is graded as needing attention because some pupils have not achieved well enough over time.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve less well than disadvantaged pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Weaknesses in letter formation, punctuation and writing fluency limit progress across the curriculum.
• Gaps in foundational knowledge, particularly writing, leave some pupils unprepared for the next stage.
• Teaching sometimes moves on before some pupils are ready, slowing their progress.
• Expectations for handwriting and grammar are not consistently high in a small number of classes.
• Some actions to improve the curriculum are at an early stage of implementation.
• Governors’ understanding of the impact of the pupil premium strategy is not precise enough.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for their next stage of education as they should be.

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 Houghton CofE School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.6% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Houghton CofE 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 Houghton CofE School had 17.8 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, 5.0% of pupils at Houghton CofE School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.8% 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 Houghton CofE School received £6,760 and spent £7,065 for each of its 179 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £16,000 (£90 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 Houghton CofE School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Houghton CofE School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Houghton CofE School last inspected by Ofsted?

Houghton CofE School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Houghton CofE School have?

Houghton CofE School has 179 pupils on roll.

What age range does Houghton CofE School cover?

Houghton CofE School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Houghton CofE School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Houghton CofE School?

Houghton CofE School is at Jackson Road, Houghton, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 0PA.