St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School

About St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School

St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School in Cumberland was rated Good in its most recent graded inspection in 2014, and an ungraded inspection in March 2024 confirmed the school remains Good and is improving. The school serves children from age 3 to 7, so it does not sit standard Key Stage 2 SATs — its academic story is told through its early years and infant-phase provision. In the 2008 graded inspection, early years provision was rated Requires Improvement (grade 2), but by 2014 both leadership and management and overall effectiveness had reached Good. The school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections, with the 2024 ungraded visit noting positive momentum. With 125 pupils on roll against a capacity of 150, it is operating below capacity, which may reflect its specific age range and local demographics. The school is Church of England, and the headteacher is Alex Moore.

Because St James' is an infant and nursery school, it does not publish Key Stage 2 SATs results or a Progress 8 score. The local authority, Cumberland, has 144 primary schools in total, of which only 5 are rated Outstanding by Ofsted. The local average for Key Stage 2 attainment sits at 54, but this figure applies to schools with Year 6 cohorts, which St James' does not have. The school's academic focus is therefore on early years development and the foundation stage, where the 2014 inspection found leadership and management to be Good. The school's small size — just 125 pupils — allows for close attention to individual progress, and the 2024 ungraded inspection's description of the school as 'Improving' suggests that standards are moving in the right direction. Parents looking for infant-phase outcomes should consider the school's consistent Good rating and its improving trajectory.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, gymnasium, chapel, and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include athletics, football, swimming, rounders, netball, and cross country, while clubs cover drama, coding, choir, and chess. For children with additional needs, the school provides support for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions for the 2025/26 year show the school is oversubscribed: 72 applications were received for 35 places, with all 35 first-preference applicants receiving an offer, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.06. This level of demand suggests the school is well-regarded locally, particularly among families seeking a Church of England infant setting with nursery provision. The school suits families who want a small, faith-based infant school with strong outdoor and sporting provision and a clear SEND offer.

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