St George's CofE School

St George’s CofE School is a happy, caring primary school where pupils thrive and typically achieve well across a wide range of subjects. Inspectors found good quality of education, good behaviour and attitudes, outstanding personal development, good leadership and management, and good early years provision. The school has an ambitious curriculum, reading is a high priority, support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very effective, and pupils benefit from an exceptionally wide range of enriching experiences. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and governors provide effective support and challenge. The main area for improvement is the writing curriculum. It does not set out clearly enough the knowledge and skills pupils need for writing, including grammar, punctuation and handwriting, which makes it harder for teachers to ensure pupils write accurately and fluently. Most pupils attend regularly and are punctual, although attendance of some pupils declined in recent years; the school has taken robust action and rates are improving. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school remains good overall, with no overall effectiveness grade awarded under the current inspection framework.

Strengths

• Pupils thrive in a happy, caring school with warm relationships and high expectations.
• The curriculum is ambitious and prepares pupils well, including in the early years.
• Pupils typically achieve well and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Reading is a high priority, with strong support for early reading and keen older readers.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very effective and inclusive.
• Personal development is exceptionally well designed, offering a wide range of enriching experiences.
• Pupils behave sensibly, and staff provide highly effective support for those who struggle with behaviour.
• Leaders and governors have clear oversight and provide effective support and challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• The school has taken robust action to improve attendance, with rates increasing for many pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• The writing curriculum does not clearly set out progressive knowledge and skills, including grammar, punctuation and handwriting.
• This hinders teachers from ensuring pupils learn to write with accuracy and fluency.
• The attendance of some pupils had declined in recent years, although robust action is improving rates.

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 St George's CofE School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.5% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St George's 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 St George's CofE School had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% 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, 53.5% of pupils at St George's CofE School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.5% 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 St George's CofE School received £9,158 and spent £9,448 for each of its 226 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £255,000 (-£1,129 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 Barrow-In-Furness · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

What is St George's CofE School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St George's CofE School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St George's CofE School last inspected by Ofsted?

St George's CofE School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St George's CofE School have?

St George's CofE School has 226 pupils on roll.

What age range does St George's CofE School cover?

St George's CofE School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St George's CofE School?

St George's CofE School is at School Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 2JN.