Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School, Workington
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Workington. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in April 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 3rd-highest of the 12 schools in Workington with published results, and 6,288th of 14,452 across England. It was 73% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2014)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cumberland (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School in detail
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School in its own words
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care until 4:00pm, from £4.00 per session.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School reached the expected standard in reading and 75% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 73% and 70% in Cumberland and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 65% in reading and 76% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
For September 2026 entry, 7 families put Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School as their first choice and 12 named it as one of their preferences, for 7 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School are Seaton Academy (1.6 miles, Requires improvement); Seaton St. Paul's CofE Junior School (1.8 miles, Good, 62% reading, 58% maths); Broughton Primary School (2.2 miles, Good, 89% reading, 83% maths); and St Bridget's CofE School (2.3 miles, Good, 73% reading, 73% maths).
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.
Seaton AcademySeaton St. Paul's CofE Junior SchoolBroughton Primary SchoolSt Bridget's CofE School
What parents say
36 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School (as of September 2025): 94% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 71% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child does well at the school (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (71%).
Who goes there
36.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 4.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 13 pupils (14%) received SEN support and 2 (2.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School had 7 teachers in 2026, one for every 11 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Station Entrance, about 2.8 miles away in a straight line.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 7 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cumberland (22).
Suspensions and exclusions
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from November 2014, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's April 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Derwent Vale creates a welcoming, caring environment where children are excited to learn and want to do their best. Staff expertly teach the skills children need to succeed, from early letter formation through to reading fluency. The school also prioritises whole-child development, teaching pupils about respect, diversity, healthy relationships, and how to stay safe both offline and online.
Key Strengths
- Positive relationships between staff and pupils create a caring learning environment
- Strong teaching of fundamental skills in English and mathematics from the early years
- Ambitious and coherent curriculum with good subject-specific vocabulary use
- Excellent behaviour management with disruption to learning extremely rare
- Comprehensive personal development programme including online safety, healthy relationships, and mental health
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistent expectations for how pupils record their learning across the curriculum means they don't always explain their understanding clearly
- Year 6 reading attainment was slightly below national average in 2024
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with strong systems in place to keep pupils safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Cycling to school, sports activities, educational visits linked to curriculum subjects, governor meetings with pupils
Derwent Vale is a thriving and happy primary school with a very strong sense of community where pupils demonstrate a genuine love for learning. The school has maintained good standards and continues to provide an ambitious curriculum with high expectations for all pupils.
At a Glance
36.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
36 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 65% to 83% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 75% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 76% to 92% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
18.6
Avg class size
14.5
Infant (KS1)
26.5
KS2
5
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
Newsletter 2nd October 2026
2 Oct 2026
Newsletter 25nd September 2026
25 Sep 2026
Newsletter 18th September 2026
18 Sep 2026
Platinum Award School Success
17 Jul 2026
Newsletter 17th July
17 Jul 2026
Newsletter 3rd July 2026
6 Jul 2026
From Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
Before and after school care
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Cumberland
Term dates
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Cumberland. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Wednesday 2 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Friday 16 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Wednesday 5 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Thursday 20 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is in Cumberland; for families living there:
- Cumberland's school travel policy: Step by step guide of the Home to School Travel Assistance Policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025.
The typical figure for schools in Cumberland is 5 (the median across 179 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
Will you get a place at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Cumberland, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Cumberland got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
73%
Available places
77 pupils
105 places
28 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Workington
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Workington
Across Cumberland council
Places available
3,537
Applications
2,352
Got 1st preference
98.2%
Got preferred school
99.7%
All primary applications across Cumberland council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
13
SEN Support
2
EHC Plans
16.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
93
Total Pupils
47
Boys
46
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
7
Teachers
13.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£46,127
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,941
Per pupil
£698k
Total funding
£48k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.1%
Overall absence
17.3%
Persistent absence
75
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School
What are SATs results like at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Of the pupils at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% reached the expected standard in reading and 75% did so in maths.
What is Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2014, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
No fixed boundary. When Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is oversubscribed, Cumberland allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School was not full in 2025: it ran at 73% of its 105 places.
How big are the classes at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Classes at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School average 18.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School has around 93 pupils on roll. 37% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
5.1% of sessions were missed at Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School in 2024/25. 17.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Apply through Cumberland's coordinated admissions process, naming Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school.
What are Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School's term dates?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Cumberland. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Wednesday 2 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Friday 16 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Wednesday 5 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Thursday 20 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025. The typical figure for schools in Cumberland is 5 (the median across 179 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School?
Derwent Vale Primary and Nursery School is at William Street, Great Clifton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1WA.
Sources: Cumberland term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)