Selside Endowed CofE Primary School

About Selside Endowed CofE Primary School

Selside Endowed CofE Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2019, with the school confirmed to have maintained this standard during an ungraded visit in March 2024. This places it among the majority of primary schools in Westmorland and Furness, where only six out of 121 schools currently hold an Outstanding grade. The school’s leadership and management were also judged Good in the 2019 inspection, while its previous inspection in 2011 had rated overall effectiveness as Outstanding. With just 37 pupils on roll against a capacity of 73, Selside is a very small village school, and its size means that published exam data is limited. However, the local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment sits at 58 per cent, providing a useful benchmark for parents considering how a school of this scale typically performs against wider county figures.

Because of its small cohort, Selside does not publish individual Progress 8 or KS2 SATs results that can be reliably compared year-on-year, so parents should look to the Ofsted judgement as the primary indicator of academic quality. The school’s Good rating reflects a solid standard of education, and the leadership team has been praised for maintaining this level since the previous Outstanding grade. The local context shows that Westmorland and Furness has a strong spread of primary provision, with top-performing peers including Yarlside Academy and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Ulverston. For families who value a close-knit, Church of England primary with a strong pastoral focus, Selside’s small size can be an advantage, allowing staff to tailor support closely to individual children, particularly those with specific learning difficulties or social, emotional and mental health needs.

The school offers a nursery provision for younger children and a range of facilities including a library, gymnasium, sensory room, sports hall, art studios, ICT suite and chapel. Sports on offer include tennis, rounders, athletics, cross country, netball, dance and swimming, while clubs cover coding, science and gardening. Selside was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, receiving 11 applications for five places, with all five first-preference families offered a spot. This suggests strong local demand despite the school’s small size. The admissions ratio of 2.2 applicants per place means that families outside the immediate catchment should apply early. With its CofE character, dedicated SEND support and broad extracurricular offer, Selside is well suited to families seeking a nurturing but academically solid primary school in a rural setting, where children can benefit from small class sizes and a wide range of activities.

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