Settle Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

About Settle Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Settle Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a rating it has held consistently across both its graded inspections. The school’s most informative exam metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, where 45% of pupils met the benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. This places the school below the North Yorkshire local authority average of 60%, and ranks it 185th out of 223 primary schools in the county, putting it in the bottom half of schools regionally and nationally. While the combined figure is modest, individual subject results tell a more nuanced story: 81% of pupils reached the expected standard in writing, and 58% did so in reading, with maths at 55%. Higher-attaining pupils were strongest in reading, where 32% achieved the higher standard, compared with 10% in writing and just 6% in maths.

The Ofsted inspection report from April 2023 awarded Good across all five categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This represents a consistent performance compared with the previous inspection in 2016, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good, though early years provision has improved from a Requires Improvement rating at that time. The school has 197 pupils on roll, close to its capacity of 210, and 10.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly below the national average. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, but the attainment data suggests that while writing outcomes are a relative strength, maths and reading at the expected level lag behind the local authority average, and higher-attainment outcomes are concentrated in reading.

Settle Church of England Primary offers a range of facilities including a Forest School, library, art studios, ICT suite and a chapel, reflecting its Church of England foundation. Sports provision covers netball, football, cricket and tennis, and clubs include choir, eco club, drama, gardening, coding and science club. The school has a broad SEND offer, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed with 48 applications for 25 places, and all 25 first-preference applicants were offered a place, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.92. This is a school that suits families who value a Good-rated, Church of England primary with strong writing outcomes, a wide range of extracurricular activities and a clear SEND support structure, but who are comfortable with below-average KS2 combined attainment compared with the local authority.

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