Schools & FE · Report card

St Bees Village Primary School

Inspected 14 Jul 2026 · published 17 Sept 2026 · URN 149818

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Cleone Cunningham (lead), Kathryn Pym, Linda Griffiths

What we read, and from where

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Achievement verified
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Early years verified
Strong standard
Inclusion verified
Strong standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
14 Jul 2026
Inspectors verified
Cleone Cunningham, Kathryn Pym, Linda Griffiths
Postcode verified
CA27 0AA
Name on report verified
St Bees Village Primary School
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
149818

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Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementExpected
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
Early yearsStrong
InclusionStrong
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+76Very positivemore positive than 57% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisepositiveeffectivethrivefeel safehighly effectivestrongwell preparedenjoy

Criticismconcernsunsafegapsworryingstrugglebelow

How the report reads, start to finish

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FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1471w+77
Leadership230w+77
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve40w+43

Strengths

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Concerns

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Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 16
Words of findings: 1,792; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 49, typical 43
Average sentence: 15 words
Next steps: 2; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 4%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 47%Leadership 7%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 1%About the inspection 42%

Full report text

St Bees Village Primary School

Address: Main Street, St Bees, Cumbria, CA27 0AA Unique reference number (URN): 149818

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Strong standard

Children settle quickly into a warm, language ‑ rich environment. Staff build trusting relationships and talk with children in meaningful ways during play, routines and focused activities. This ensures that children's vocabulary grows rapidly. Staff use a wide variety of engaging texts to deepen understanding and develop enjoyment in reading.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders have carefully sequenced the curriculum and ensured that each aspect of a child's day is organised around intentional learning opportunities. In Reception, phonics is taught very well by skilled staff. Children quickly become fluent readers. Staff teach early writing and handwriting explicitly, alongside highly effective practice to secure pencil grip and letter formation. This equips children well for the next stage of their education. Staff develop children's number sense and mathematical language through practical exploration. Appropriate adaptations made by staff ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, can access learning.

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Early years Strong standard

The classrooms and outdoor spaces are full of interesting activities which enable children to deepen their learning and extend their vocabulary. Rules and routines are well embedded. Children follow these with confidence and independence. Children learn to manage risks, for example when climbing, using ride-on vehicles or construction equipment. Staff make the most of every learning opportunity. For example, a discussion with children about bees with children led to a beekeeper coming to talk to pupils.

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Early years Strong standard

Staff work closely with families and adjust support so that every child takes part and learns well. Leaders plan smooth transitions so that children move into Year 1 with very secure foundations.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff have established highly effective strategies that significantly enhance the opportunities and experiences of disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those known, or previously known, to children's social care, and those facing other barriers to learning and wellbeing.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff get to know each pupil quickly when they enter the school. They work closely with parents and use accurate assessment to build a precise picture of each pupil’s individual needs. The trust provides expert advice for leaders and high quality training for staff. This gives staff the expertise they need to adapt the curriculum and to reduce or remove any barriers to learning or wellbeing so that pupils with SEND can learn the curriculum alongside their classmates. Leaders draw on advice from external specialists where appropriate. Leaders maintain rigorous oversight of the school's provision for pupils with additional needs. This is evidenced by strong individual progress, including for pupils working below age-related expectations from their starting points.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders ensure that families are regularly informed of the help they can receive so that local partnership strategies have a positive impact on pupils at the school. Leaders ensure that additional funding, for example the pupil premium grant, is used effectively to provide

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Expected standard

support for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders also use this funding to ensure that no pupil misses out on the wide range of enrichment opportunities available.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Most pupils at St Bees make secure progress across the curriculum as they move through the school. This includes disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who are known, or previously known, to social care. This is the result of effective teaching in the school. The youngest children in the early years make rapid progress from their starting points, particularly in reading and writing. Children in the early years are extremely well prepared for Year 1.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils throughout the school build increasingly secure foundations in reading, writing and mathematics. This helps them to achieve well across the wider curriculum. Older pupils remember what they have learned over time in other subjects such as science and history. For example, they can explain how certain materials act as insulators to make our use of electricity safer. By the time they leave Year 6, pupils' attainment, including disadvantaged pupils, is broadly close to national averages. This means that pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders promote the importance of high attendance to pupils and families. The pupils of St Bees value their school as a place of learning and most attend regularly. Leaders work sensitively with families to ensure that school attendance is a priority. As a result, attendance of pupils is in line with national averages, while attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average for these pupils. A small number of pupils miss too much school through parents and carers taking them on holidays during termtime. Leaders take robust action when this happens. Where individual pupils struggle to attend, leaders are effective in helping to reduce the barriers that impact their attendance. As a result, these pupils improve their attendance over time.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Highly positive behaviour and conduct are deeply rooted in the values of the school. This starts in the early years. Pupils want everyone to follow the rules and to feel safe and secure in school. Pupils show self-control and positive attitudes to learning. The school is a sanctuary of calm when pupils arrive to begin learning. Pupils show respect and consideration towards others. Good manners are expected and pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors. This creates a positive, calm and respectful environment across the school.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have increased the ambition of the curriculum. They have designed a curriculum that is ambitious and logically ordered so that learning builds securely over time. There is a sharp focus on pupils and children in the early years gaining the foundational knowledge they need in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have successfully improved the quality and fluency of pupils’ written work and deepened their knowledge of mathematical concepts. Pupils apply this knowledge to other areas of the curriculum with increasing confidence.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Generally, staff check pupils’ progress to provide timely support so that pupils catch up quickly if they have gaps in their learning. However, at times, teachers do not provide pupils with the precise guidance that they need. This slows progress for these pupils. Also, on occasion, the activities that teachers design do not help pupils to demonstrate all that they know.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate understanding of how well the curriculum is taught. They visit lessons and work alongside staff to accurately identify strengths in teaching and next steps to further improve the quality of teaching. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities successfully follow the same learning as their peers because they receive the adaptations and support they need to do so. Typically, pupils progress well through the curriculum from their starting points.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Since the last inspection, the school has joined an academy trust and has had two changes to the headteacher role. The leadership and governance arrangements of the school have changed. New leaders have made many positive developments to the school in a short space of time. They have worked tenaciously to improve the curriculum and teaching that pupils experience. Leaders have an accurate picture of the school’s performance. Some of the changes they have made are now having a positive impact on pupils’ published outcomes, for example in the phonics screening check, which has improved significantly.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Those with responsibility for governance know the school’s context and understand their statutory duties. The local governing board and the trust offer leaders appropriate challenge and support. They scrutinise the use of additional funding to ensure that it benefits the pupils for whom it is intended.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders consider staff’s workload and wellbeing when they introduce changes. Staff feel well consulted on the suite of changes that have taken place. As a result, staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported. Staff value the professional development they receive. Leaders have carefully planned the training they provide so that staff can deliver the school’s priorities. Leaders have built positive relationships with parents and carers. Parents recognise the rapid improvements that have been made to the school in a short space of time.

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