Askam Village School

Askam Village School is a welcoming, smaller-than-average village primary where pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school's early years provision, personal development offer and attendance are relative strengths. Children settle quickly into early years, benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum in communication, language, reading and number, and are well prepared for Year 1. Pupils enjoy a broad range of clubs, trips and responsibilities, and staff know pupils well and provide caring support. However, pupils do not achieve well enough over time. Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics have fallen and are below national averages, with some pupils having gaps in handwriting, spelling and number. Teaching varies across the school: staff do not consistently check understanding, address errors or adapt work for pupils with SEND, and assessment is not used well enough to plan next steps. Support for pupils with additional needs is inconsistent, and learning targets are often too general. Leaders have begun to improve the curriculum, early reading and mathematics, but these changes are at an early stage and their impact is not yet secure. Leaders have not acted quickly enough to tackle underperformance, and their checks on teaching have not been detailed enough. Governors are committed and fulfil statutory duties, but improvement work remains early. The next steps focus on sharper use of assessment, better adaptation for SEND, precise targets, more rigorous attendance analysis and closer monitoring of impact.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school, with calm classrooms and polite, respectful attitudes.
• Pupils feel safe and are confident that staff will deal with unkind behaviour or bullying quickly and fairly.
• Attendance is in line with national figures and persistent absence remains low, supported by close work with families.
• Early years provision is strong, with clear routines, warm relationships and a well-sequenced curriculum.
• Early reading and number teaching in early years helps children build solid foundations and prepare well for Year 1.
• Personal development is well-structured, age-appropriate and includes healthy relationships, mental health and online safety.
• Pupils understand British values, respect differences and learn about different cultures and religions.
• The school offers a broad range of clubs, trips, residentials and responsibilities that build confidence and belonging.
• Staff know pupils well and provide caring, timely support for emotional and wellbeing needs.
• Leaders have improved early reading and mathematics teaching, and staff value the training and support they receive.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties, understand priorities increasingly well and ask focused questions.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported with early reading and wider opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve well enough over time, and published outcomes are below national averages.
• Attainment has fallen in English and mathematics, including for pupils with additional barriers.
• Some pupils have gaps in handwriting, spelling and number skills that limit secure achievement across the curriculum.
• Attainment is inconsistent across English and mathematics, and some pupils are not well prepared for the next stage.
• Teaching varies because curriculum and teaching improvements are still being established.
• Staff do not routinely check pupils' understanding or identify errors, so mistakes in handwriting, spelling and number remain.
• Assessment information is not used consistently to plan next steps, and work sometimes does not build on prior learning.
• Tasks are not adapted effectively for pupils who find learning difficult, including some pupils with SEND.
• Support for pupils needing extra help is inconsistent, and next-step targets for pupils with additional needs are often too general.
• Some pupils with additional needs are given the same work as classmates and struggle to access the curriculum.
• Leaders have not acted quickly enough to address areas where provision has fallen short.
• Leaders' checks on teaching and learning have not been detailed enough to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Recent changes to the writing curriculum are at an early stage, and the impact of curriculum improvements is not fully established.
• Analysis of persistent absence is not detailed enough to support those pupils more quickly.
• Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are below national averages, with large disadvantage gaps.

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 Askam Village School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.7% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Askam Village 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 Askam Village School had 29.7 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, 4.3% of pupils at Askam Village School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Askam Village School received £6,869 and spent £6,982 for each of its 176 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £41,000 (-£236 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
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All schools in Westmorland And Furness · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

What is Askam Village School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Askam Village School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Askam Village School last inspected by Ofsted?

Askam Village School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Askam Village School have?

Askam Village School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does Askam Village School cover?

Askam Village School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Askam Village School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 26% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Askam Village School?

Askam Village School is at Lots Road, Askam-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA16 7DA.