Petteril Bank School

Petteril Bank School has shown a significant turnaround in performance since its conversion to an academy. The leaders have established a strong culture of care and high expectations, leading to notable improvements in pupils' attendance and behaviour, which now exceeds national averages. While there are considerable strengths in safeguarding and a supportive environment that enables pupils to thrive, there remain challenges in fully addressing knowledge gaps, particularly in writing and spelling skills across the curriculum. Current achievements, though improving, are still reflected below national averages in key areas, indicating ongoing work is needed to ensure that all pupils are well prepared for the next stages of their education.

Strengths

• Strong culture of safeguarding and care for pupils
• Significant improvements in attendance and behaviour
• High expectations upheld consistently by leaders and staff
• Effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs
• Pupils demonstrate excellent self-discipline and respect towards others
• Well-designed personal development programme in place

Areas for Improvement

• Residual knowledge gaps in writing and spelling skills
• Teachers' assessment strategies need further sharpening to address misconceptions
• Some children in early years take longer to develop basic writing skills
• Need for deeper engagement to extend children's thinking in early years

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 Petteril Bank School attended 95.5% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Petteril Bank 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 Petteril Bank School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.3% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Petteril Bank School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% 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 Petteril Bank School received £8,753 and spent £9,201 for each of its 159 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£119 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Cumbria Education Trust, income was £7,121 and spending £7,168 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 Carlisle · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

Petteril Bank School is part of Cumbria Education Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Caldew Lea School Carlisle
• Newtown Primary School Carlisle
• Yewdale School Carlisle
• Castle Carrock School Brampton
• William Howard School Brampton
• Longtown Primary School Carlisle
• Yanwath Primary School Penrith
• Workington Academy Workington
• Northside Primary School Workington
• Tebay Primary School Penrith

What is Petteril Bank School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Petteril Bank School is Expected standard, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Petteril Bank School last inspected by Ofsted?

Petteril Bank School was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Petteril Bank School have?

Petteril Bank School has 147 pupils on roll.

What age range does Petteril Bank School cover?

Petteril Bank School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Petteril Bank School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Petteril Bank School?

Petteril Bank School is at Burnett Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 3BX.