Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School

Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School is a small, inclusive church school that inspectors judged to be performing at the expected standard overall, with personal development and wellbeing at a strong standard. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils are proud of their school, behave well, attend regularly and feel valued. The school has a high proportion of pupils with SEN support, well above average, and leaders ensure these pupils, and those facing disadvantage, are supported to access the full curriculum. The curriculum is well sequenced from early years to Year 6, with a strong focus on phonics, vocabulary and mathematics. Personal development is a particular strength: pupils learn about relationships, health, online safety and British values, and they benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and competitions. Staff and governors know the school well, work constructively with external partners, and parents are positive. Behaviour is calm and orderly, bullying is rare, and attendance is in line with national averages. There are still areas to improve. Published multiplication tables check outcomes have been below national averages for two years, though leaders have acted. In some lessons, teaching does not consistently help pupils address errors and misconceptions, especially in writing, and some activities are not well designed to build on prior knowledge. In the early years, children occasionally do not get timely practice in key skills such as letter formation. Leaders' next steps rightly focus on these points.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and help make it welcoming and inclusive.
• Pupils show kindness, compassion and care towards younger children.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with a broad and inclusive programme.
• Relationships and health education is comprehensive and well taught.
• Pupils develop a thorough understanding of online safety and British values.
• A wide range of clubs, trips and sporting competitions enriches pupils' experiences.
• Barriers to participation are swiftly identified and overcome.
• Pupils achieve well from the early years, including those with SEND.
• Attendance is in line with national averages and persistent absence is slightly lower.
• Behaviour is calm and orderly, with rare low-level disruption and bullying.
• Curriculum builds logically from early years to Year 6 with clear knowledge and vocabulary.
• Phonics teaching is effective and targeted support helps pupils become fluent readers.
• The school is inclusive, with effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school and work well with external agencies.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value professional learning and wellbeing support.
• Parents are positive about the care and education their children receive.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching sometimes does not help pupils address errors and misconceptions, including in writing.
• Some activities staff design are not as helpful as they could be in helping pupils learn the curriculum well.
• Published outcomes in the multiplication tables check have been below national averages for the past two years.
• In the early years, children occasionally need more practice to develop key skills such as forming letters correctly, and staff do not provide this support as quickly as they could.

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 Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided 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 Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary 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 Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School received £7,353 and spent £7,376 for each of its 113 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £39,000 (£341 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).

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

What is Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School has 113 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School cover?

Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School is at North Road, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9LJ.