Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Holy Family Catholic Primary School continues to demonstrate good overall performance. The school fosters a welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and are eager to learn. Leaders have high expectations and provide a broad and ambitious curriculum that has been enhanced since the last inspection. Notably, pupils of all ages, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. The school's strong emphasis on reading from early years onwards supports pupils in developing a love for literature and reading fluency. Pupils also benefit from a variety of extracurricular opportunities that enhance their personal growth.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and feel safe at school.
• Leaders have high expectations for pupil achievement.
• The school offers a broad and ambitious curriculum.
• Reading is a key priority, with effective phonics instruction.
• Pupils with SEND achieve as well as their peers.
• Teachers engage pupils effectively during lessons.
• Pupils develop a strong sense of responsibility and respect.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum lacks details on smaller components of knowledge needed for learning progression.

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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School attended 95.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Holy Family Catholic 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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School had 22.6 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, 4.1% of pupils at Holy Family Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School received £6,633 and spent £6,673 for each of its 216 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £55,000 (£256 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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holy Family Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Holy Family Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Holy Family Catholic Primary School have?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School has 217 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holy Family Catholic Primary School cover?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Holy Family Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holy Family Catholic Primary School?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is at Ostley Bank, Newbarns, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 9LR.