Glaisdale Primary School

Glaisdale Primary School is a small village primary with high ambitions and an exceptional quality of education. In this first routine section 5 inspection, the school was judged outstanding in all key areas, including early years provision, with pupils achieving very well and producing work of a consistently high standard. Pupils, including those with SEND, benefit from a coherent curriculum, strong teaching and effective support, and they behave extremely well in a calm and purposeful environment. The school's personal development offer is broad and purposeful, giving pupils diverse experiences through extra-curricular activities, outdoor learning, 'Moors School' and community events. Attendance is a high priority and pupils attend regularly. Staff, pupils and parents speak highly of the school, and leaders and governors have an accurate view of its work. The school is part of Yorkshire Endeavour Academy Trust, and trust partnerships support curriculum development and staff workload. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. There are no identified areas of concern in the report, and the school is focused on maintaining its consistently high standard while acting as an educational 'beacon on the moors'.

Strengths

• The curriculum is coherently designed and logically sequenced so pupils build increasingly sophisticated subject knowledge.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and teach with confidence across mixed-age classes.
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve very well and produce work to a consistently high standard.
• Adults support children in Reception well, including through play, language development and vocabulary building.
• Phonics is taught from the start of Reception, with reading books matched to pupils' known sounds and timely support for gaps.
• Pupils behave extremely well, are polite and respectful, and contribute to a calm school atmosphere.
• Attendance is a high priority and pupils attend school regularly.
• The personal development offer is coherent and purposeful, including protected characteristics, 'oaths' and 'Moors School'.
• Pupils value a diverse range of extra-curricular experiences, including adventurous sports and breakfast club activities.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school and check that actions do not negatively affect staff workload.
• Strong trust partnerships support curriculum development and staff career aspirations.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

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 Glaisdale Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.0% 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 Glaisdale 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 Glaisdale Primary School had 10.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.7% 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, 10.7% of pupils at Glaisdale 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 2020–21 Glaisdale Primary School received £12,668 and spent £12,912 for each of its 34 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £211,000 (£6,192 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Yorkshire Endeavour Academy Trust, income was £7,006 and spending £6,969 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Whitby · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

Glaisdale Primary School is part of Yorkshire Endeavour Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Lealholm Primary School Whitby
• Castleton Primary School Whitby
• Oakridge Community Primary School Saltburn-By-The-Sea
• Airy Hill Primary School Whitby
• West Cliff Primary School Whitby

What is Glaisdale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Glaisdale Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Glaisdale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Glaisdale Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Glaisdale Primary School have?

Glaisdale Primary School has 28 pupils on roll.

What age range does Glaisdale Primary School cover?

Glaisdale Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Glaisdale Primary School?

Glaisdale Primary School is at Glaisdale, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 2PZ.