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Moorside Primary School

Primary Ages 5-11 570 pupils Lancaster
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Lancaster

Moorside Primary School is a community school in Lancaster for pupils aged 5 to 11. It has 570 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Moorside Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024. In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: January 2024. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Community school
Age Range 5-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Bowerham Road
Newlands
Lancaster
Lancashire
LA1 4HT
Phone 0152466516
Reference Number 119273

General Makeup

Number of pupils 570
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.51%
Girls: 46.49%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 10.2%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 14.4%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 27.1
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 24.8
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 28.9

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 37 30 67
2 42 42 84
3 51 39 90
4 53 31 84
5 46 39 85
6 46 42 88

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 75.8%
White, Other 4.2%
Mixed, Other 3.3%
Unclassified 3.2%
Chinese 2.3%
Indian 2.3%
African 1.8%
Asian, Other 0.5%
White & Asian 0.4%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.2%
White & Black (African) 0.2%
Pakistani 0.2%

Moorside Primary School continues to demonstrate a good performance, showcasing an environment where pupils are happy and engaged in their learning. The school's strong values contribute to a positive atmosphere where kindness and politeness are commonplace. Pupils generally achieve well and are well-prepared for secondary education, with effective support for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Furthermore, the school offers a variety of enriching extracurricular activities that help pupils develop new interests and skills, promoting their all-rounded development as confident citizens.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 13 Dec 2023
Date Report
13 Dec 2023 School inspection
18 Apr 2018 Full inspection:
04 Dec 2013 Full inspection:
09 Jan 2012 Interim assessment
03 Oct 2008 Full inspection:
21 Sep 2005 Full inspection:
04 Oct 1999 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils are happy and well-behaved, demonstrating kindness and respect.
  • The school has high expectations for academic achievement, especially in reading.
  • There is a well-designed and ambitious curriculum across key stages 1 and 2.
  • Teachers effectively use assessment strategies to check on pupils' learning.
  • A wide range of enrichment activities is available, fostering new interests.

Areas for Improvement

  • A small number of pupils find learning to read more difficult and do not receive effective support.
  • There are some subjects where curriculum clarity still needs refining.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 70%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 7%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 108
Maths 107

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 2.1
Writing 0.2
Maths 3.5

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 49 3
Third Preference 45 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Moorside Primary School had 588 pupils for 630 places. 42 places (6.7%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Lancaster City” planning area

Lancashire counted 330 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 324 in 2029–30, down 2%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 420420420420420447630630630630630630630630630
Pupils 411417401415420447480496520556611623623612588
Unfilled 2.1%0.7%4.5%1.2%0.0%0.0%23.8%21.3%17.5%11.7%3.0%1.1%1.1%2.9%6.7%

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 Moorside Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 2.8%3.0%2.9%3.4%3.2%2.7%2.1%4.4%3.0%3.1%2.5%
Unauthorised absence 0.2%0.1%0.4%0.3%0.3%0.5%0.4%0.7%1.1%0.8%0.9%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.0%0.3%0.0%0.0%0.2%0.2%0.0%0.4%0.0%0.2%

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 Moorside Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.00.00.20.20.00.20.00.40.50.50.01.00.81.0
Permanent exclusions 0000000000000002

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 Moorside Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 12.411.712.213.312.713.713.214.515.814.415.213.013.713.414.515.7
Teachers who left state teaching 5.9%0.0%0.0%2.3%5.7%1.4%20.7%4.4%11.4%0.0%3.2%6.9%3.6%6.3%5.8%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 55.0%70.0%75.0%73.9%66.7%61.5%58.3%61.5%53.6%–38.2%83.3%75.0%74.1%61.5%–
Sick days per teacher 2.66.512.45.310.48.410.75.211.1–2.18.413.712.16.3–

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, 20.2% of pupils at Moorside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 49 2
Other difficulty or disability 26 0
Speech, language and communication needs 14 4
Specific learning difficulty 14 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 7 2
No specialist assessment of need 4 0
Vision impairment 0 3
Physical disability 1 0

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 Moorside Primary School received £7,051 and spent £7,015 for each of its 570 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £142,000 (£248 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20192020202120222023202420252026
Revenue reserve £84,000£62,000£328,000£199,000£170,000£129,000£121,000£142,000
per pupil £152£106£535£320£273£213£205£248
In-year balance -£19,000-£22,000£266,000-£129,000-£29,000-£41,000-£8,000£21,000
per pupil -£35-£38£434-£208-£47-£67-£14£36

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

Name Distance
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster
Bowerham Road, St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4HT
0.07 miles
Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary and Nursery School
Scotforth Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4SE
0.41 miles
Bowerham Primary & Nursery School
BOWERHAM ROAD, BOWERHAM, LANCASTER, LANCASHIRE, LA1 4BS
0.64 miles
The Cathedral Catholic Primary School, Lancaster
Balmoral Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3BT
1.04 miles
Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School
Highfield, Derwent Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3ES
1.18 miles
Lancaster Dallas Road Community Primary School
High Street, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1LD
1.25 miles
Castle View Primary Academy
Keswick Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3LE
1.48 miles
Appletree Nursery School
Milking Stile Lane, Lancaster, LA1 5QB
1.65 miles
Willow Lane Community Primary School
Willow Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 5PR
1.67 miles
Lancaster Independent School for Alternative Learning (Lisal)
Lune Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 5QU
1.76 miles
Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Postern Gate Road, Quernmore, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 9EL
1.94 miles
St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster
Aldrens Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2DU
2 miles
Lancaster Ryelands Primary School
Torrisholme Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2RJ
2.23 miles
Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School
Slyne Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2JH
2.33 miles
Morecambe and Heysham Grosvenor Park Primary School
Roeburn Drive, Grosvenor Park, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA3 3RY
2.61 miles
Ellel St John the Evangelist Church of England Primary School
Chapel Street, Galgate, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 0JS
2.75 miles
Morecambe and Heysham Torrisholme Community Primary School
Low Lane, Torrisholme, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA4 6PN
3.19 miles
Overton St Helen's Church of England Primary School
Lancaster Road, Overton, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA3 3EZ
3.23 miles
St Wilfrid's Cof E Primary School
Pennystone Road, Halton, Penny Stone Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 6QE
3.46 miles
Great Wood Primary School
Beaufort Road, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA4 6UB
3.48 miles
Name Distance
Jamea Al Kauthar
Ashton Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 5AJ
0.66 miles
Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy
Ashton Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4RS
0.86 miles
Lancaster Royal Grammar School
East Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3EF
1.04 miles
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
Regent Street, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1SF
1.19 miles
Lancaster High School
Crag Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3LS
1.52 miles
Our Lady's Catholic College
Morecambe Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2RX
1.71 miles
The Loyne Specialist School
Sefton Drive, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2QD
2.2 miles
Lancaster and Morecambe College
Morecambe Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2TY
2.69 miles
Morecambe Road School
Morecambe Road, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA3 3AB
2.87 miles
Morecambe Bay Academy
Dallam Avenue, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA4 5BG
3.99 miles
Bay Leadership Academy
Osborne Road, Morecambe, Lancashire, LA3 1AB
4.26 miles

All schools in Lancaster · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Moorside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Moorside Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Moorside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Moorside Primary School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Moorside Primary School have?

Moorside Primary School has 570 pupils on roll.

What age range does Moorside Primary School cover?

Moorside Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Moorside Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Moorside Primary School?

Moorside Primary School is at Bowerham Road, Newlands, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4HT.

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