Leven Valley CofE Primary School

About Leven Valley CofE Primary School

Leven Valley CofE Primary School sits in the middle of the pack for Westmorland and Furness primary schools, ranking 55th out of 99 in the local authority. Its headline Key Stage 2 metric — the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — stands at 56%, which is very close to the LA average of 58%. That places the school in the bottom half of its local authority, but only just, and it's worth noting that the school's performance is broadly in line with the typical primary in the area rather than a significant outlier. The school's overall Ofsted rating is Good, a grade it has held consistently across its two most recent inspections. In its most recent graded inspection in November 2024, inspectors rated every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — as Good. This consistency suggests a stable and reliable school, even if its exam results don't push it into the top tier locally.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the picture is mixed but solid. In reading, 78% of pupils met the expected standard and 56% achieved a higher score, with an average scaled score of 106. Maths was stronger still: 89% reached the expected standard and 44% hit the higher threshold, with an average score also of 106. Writing was the weaker area — 67% met the expected standard and none achieved the higher standard. The combined expected standard of 56% is just two points below the LA average, so the school is performing as you'd expect for its area. No progress scores are available for reading, writing or maths, so it's not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. The school's ranking nationally places it in the bottom half of all primary schools in England, at the 67th percentile, and in the North West region it sits at the 64th percentile. For a small rural school with just 68 pupils, these results are respectable without being remarkable.

Leven Valley is a Church of England primary school for children aged 4 to 11, with a headteacher named Ian Nicol. It's a small school — operating above its official capacity of 63 with 68 pupils on roll — and it's clearly popular locally. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 16 applications for just 5 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 3.2 applicants per place. All 5 offers went to first-preference families, so getting a place is competitive. The school offers a range of facilities including a forest school, sports hall, music rooms, chapel and an ICT suite, plus clubs like gardening, eco club, coding and chess. Sports on offer include tennis, football, swimming and cricket. The school's SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties like dyslexia and speech and language needs, though the Parent View data shows no responses from parents of SEND children, so it's hard to gauge how well that support works in practice. The overwhelming majority of parents who responded would recommend the school — 100% said yes — and 96% strongly agreed their child is happy here. This is a school that suits families who value a tight-knit, church-affiliated community and are comfortable with its modest but solid academic outcomes.

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