St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow, is a happy and inclusive school where pupils feel safe and are well supported. Safeguarding standards are met. Personal development and wellbeing is a particular strength: leaders provide an ambitious programme, pupils are kind and respectful, and they benefit from wide opportunities, strong pastoral care, and effective early years provision. Inclusion and leadership are also generally effective, with quick identification of SEND and good use of funding. The school is mostly operating at the expected standard, but achievement is the clear area for improvement. Pupils do not consistently attain as well as others nationally by the end of Year 6, and some older pupils have gaps in their learning because they did not benefit from recent curriculum improvements. This means some leave primary school not fully ready for the next stage. Teaching is generally strong, but some staff do not address errors or misconceptions quickly enough or identify gaps for older pupils. Leaders have made positive changes to the curriculum and know the school well, but their checks on the impact of improvement work, especially for older pupils, are not yet sharp enough. Contextually, this is the school's first inspection since joining Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust; it is a Roman Catholic school with above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and with EHC plans.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Personal development and wellbeing are placed at the heart of the school's work.
• Pupils are kind, respectful and welcoming to new arrivals from different countries.
• Pupils learn about and enact fundamental British values.
• A wide range of trips, clubs, leadership roles and career experiences enrich pupils' education.
• Highly trained staff provide effective pastoral support, including through the 'pastoral pod'.
• Leaders help vulnerable pupils attend school, including by providing minibus transport.
• Most pupils behave well, and older pupils are positive role models for younger children.
• The refreshed curriculum is ambitious, interesting and relevant, helping most pupils build knowledge.
• Staff are well trained and work with experts, particularly in English and mathematics.
• Early years provision is strong, with a clear curriculum, effective phonics and nurturing relationships.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and receive individualised support.
• Governance is well trained and provides effective support and challenge.
• Parents and carers are very positive about the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not consistently attain as well as other pupils nationally in end of Year 6 tests and assessments.
• Some pupils leave Year 6 without being ready for the next stage of their education.
• Older pupils have gaps in their learning because they did not benefit from recent curriculum improvements.
• Errors or misconceptions in pupils' understanding are not remedied quickly enough.
• Some staff do not pick up on mistakes pupils make or identify gaps in older pupils' learning.
• Leaders do not always check how well their changes are helping older pupils catch up.
• Checks on teaching do not sharply measure impact on pupils' achievement, especially in closing gaps for older pupils.

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 St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.6% 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, 0.9% of pupils at St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow 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 St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 15.2% of pupils at St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.1% 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 St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow received £7,591 and spent £7,683 for each of its 211 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £304,000 (£1,442 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, income was £8,234 and spending £8,275 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 Barrow-In-Furness · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow is part of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, Dalton-In-Furness Dalton-In-Furness
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston Ulverston
• St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster Lancaster
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Carnforth Carnforth
• St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Windermere Windermere
• Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal Kendal
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Workington Workington
• St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington Workington

What is St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow last inspected by Ofsted?

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow have?

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow cover?

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow?

St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow is at Schneider Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 4AA.