Ofsted: Good trending_up High Demand emoji_events #57 in Westmorland and Furness public Top 65% UK

Penny Bridge CofE School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

person Mr Graham Carrick (Headteacher)

corporate_fareTHE GOOD SHEPHERD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST

location_onUlverston, LA12 7RQ

language Visit Website phone 01229861307

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

101

school

Expected Standard

58%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.5x

summarize

Penny Bridge CofE School is a Academy converter primary school in Ulverston, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Highly competitive: 1.5× more applications than places — plan well ahead. Ranks in the top 65% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Penny Bridge CofE School is an academy converter in Ulverston, Westmorland and Furness, admitting pupils aged 4-11. It is part of THE GOOD SHEPHERD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 123 pupils on roll, of whom 6% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 58% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 8% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #57 of 98 primaries in Westmorland and Furness and #10,804 of 14,159 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.5× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 21.8:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 57%

Reading67% LA 72%

Writing75% LA 68%

Maths67% LA 71%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

55%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading70% LA 75% · Eng 74%

Writing75% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths60% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

91%

LA 61%England 60%

Reading100% LA 78% · Eng 73%

Writing91% LA 75% · Eng 71%

Maths100% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.6

Read

LA 0.5

-2.1 to 5.3

1.9

Write

LA 0.2

-1.7 to 5.4

-0.7

Maths

LA -0.9

-4.2 to 2.8

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

94%

LA 68%England 65%

Reading94% LA 78% · Eng 73%

Writing94% LA 83% · Eng 78%

Maths100% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

110

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

111

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.7

Read

LA 1.0

-0.1 to 5.6

1.3

Write

LA 0.7

-1.3 to 3.9

0.7

Maths

LA -0.2

-1.8 to 3.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

86%

LA 64%

Reading93% LA 79%

Writing86% LA 81%

Maths86% LA 74%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.8

Read

LA 0.4

-0.3 to 5.9

1.9

Write

LA 0.4

-1.1 to 4.9

-0.7

Maths

LA -0.9

-3.5 to 2.1

leaderboard

Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Primary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	Attainment	Progress
2025	#10,804 / 14,159	#57	#9,163	#1
2024	#10,887 / 14,233	#63	#9,226	#1
2023	#3,673 / 13,940	#16	#170	#4,659
2019	#2,222 / 11,810	#15	#152	#2,635
2018	#2,783 / 10,972	#12	#883	#3,138

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

10 July 2024

Inspection Report

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05 November 2013

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2024-07-10

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2011-11-28

S5 Inspection EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2009-06-15

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 120 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	120	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	119	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	119	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	119	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	114	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	101	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	101	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	103	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	99	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	100	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	101	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	102	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	101	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	104	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	121	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	121	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	121	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	122	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	118	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	121	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	117	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	117	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	119	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	116	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	116	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	116	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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psychology_alt

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 4 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 2 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

97%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

93%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

32%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree52%

agree35%

disagree6%

strongly disagree3%

don't know3%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree48%

agree39%

disagree10%

strongly disagree3%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree42%

agree16%

disagree6%

not applicable35%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree48%

agree45%

disagree3%

don't know3%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree65%

agree32%

disagree3%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree55%

agree39%

disagree6%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree61%

agree39%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree74%

agree23%

disagree3%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree65%

agree32%

disagree3%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes94%

no6%

Top Primary Schools in Westmorland and Furness

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Sir John Barrow School

Outstanding

location_on Ulverston, LA12 0BD

emoji_events #1 in LA

Parkside Academy

Expected standard

location_on BARROW-in-FURNESS, LA13 9BY

emoji_events #3 in LA

Kirkby Stephen Primary School

Good

location_on Kirkby Stephen, CA17 4AE

emoji_events #4 in LA

Ghyllside Primary School

Good

location_on Kendal, LA9 4JB

emoji_events #5 in LA

Morland Area CofE Primary School

Good

location_on Penrith, CA10 3AT

emoji_events #6 in LA

Yanwath Primary School

Expected standard

location_on Penrith, CA10 2LA

emoji_events #7 in LA

View all schools in Westmorland and Furness arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ranking History & Trajectory

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Westmorland and Furness

Sir John Barrow School

Parkside Academy

Kirkby Stephen Primary School

Ghyllside Primary School

Morland Area CofE Primary School

Yanwath Primary School