Ireby CofE School

Ireby CofE School continues to perform well as a good school, where pupils thrive in a supportive and welcoming environment. The relationships among pupils and between pupils and staff are very positive, contributing significantly to the school's strong community feel. The school has made substantial improvements to its curriculum over the past two years, particularly in ensuring that pupils engage well with their learning and achieve commendably, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Despite these strengths, there are a few subjects where the curriculum is still developing and may lead to gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending school and feel secure and happy.
• Positive relationships among pupils and staff foster a supportive environment.
• High expectations for pupils’ behaviour are established from early years.
• The ambitious curriculum allows for careful progression in most subjects.
• Effective use of assessment strategies enables teachers to monitor pupil learning.
• Strong emphasis on teaching reading, leading to confident readers by Year 2.
• Support for pupils with SEND enables them to access the curriculum alongside their peers.
• Governors actively understand and support the school’s improvement efforts.

Areas for Improvement

• In a minority of subjects, the curriculum is not yet fully embedded, leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Pupils' understanding of diversity and different cultures is limited within the PSHE curriculum.

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 Ireby CofE School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.8% 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 Ireby 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 Ireby CofE School had 12.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Ireby CofE 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 Ireby CofE School received £10,823 and spent £10,723 for each of its 40 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £41,000 (£1,032 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 Wigton · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

What is Ireby CofE School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ireby CofE School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Ireby CofE School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ireby CofE School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Ireby CofE School have?

Ireby CofE School has 38 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ireby CofE School cover?

Ireby CofE School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Ireby CofE School?

Ireby CofE School is at Ireby, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 1DS.