Ghyllside Primary School

Ghyllside Primary School is a nurturing school where pupils behave well, attend regularly and benefit from strong personal development and early years provision. Staff have introduced a broad, ambitious curriculum since the last inspection, and reading is a clear priority: phonics is delivered well and pupils who struggle are supported promptly to become fluent readers. Pupils also value the wide range of trips, clubs and community activities that develop their talents and understanding of the wider world. However, the quality of education and leadership require improvement. Delivery of the new curriculum varies across key stages 1 and 2, with some activities not sharply focused and too much new information introduced too quickly. Assessment is underdeveloped, so gaps and misconceptions are not consistently identified or addressed. Support for pupils with SEND is variable because targets and adaptations are not precise enough, meaning some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Leaders and trustees have not yet established sufficiently rigorous oversight of curriculum quality. The school is part of the Ghyllside School Academy Trust and was previously judged good. This was a graded section 5 inspection in July 2025, so no overall effectiveness grade was given. Safeguarding is effective. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years are good.

Strengths

• Staff build positive, nurturing relationships with pupils
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times
• Attendance is high and the school acts effectively when it becomes a concern
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious and has been recently introduced across almost all subjects
• Reading is prioritised, with an embedded phonics programme and prompt support for pupils who struggle
• Early years provision is delivered consistently and checks on children's learning are used effectively
• Personal development is strong through trips, clubs, music, sport and community activities
• Pupils develop understanding of different beliefs, democracy and their impact on the community
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Delivery of the new curriculum is inconsistent across key stages 1 and 2
• Some learning activities do not focus sharply enough on the key knowledge pupils should know
• Teachers sometimes introduce too much new information too quickly
• Assessment systems are in their infancy and gaps in pupils' knowledge are not consistently identified or addressed
• Support for pupils with SEND is variable because targets are not clear enough and teaching is not adapted precisely
• Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should
• Leaders and trustees lack robust enough checks on the quality and impact of the curriculum
• Variability in curriculum delivery is not identified and acted on as swiftly as it could be

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 Ghyllside Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.3% 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 Ghyllside 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 Ghyllside Primary School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.0% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Ghyllside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 2024–25 Ghyllside Primary School received £6,245 and spent £6,274 for each of its 449 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £15,000 (£33 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is Ghyllside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ghyllside Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Ghyllside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ghyllside Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Ghyllside Primary School have?

Ghyllside Primary School has 424 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ghyllside Primary School cover?

Ghyllside Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ghyllside Primary School?

Ghyllside Primary School is at Gillinggate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4JB.