Vickerstown School, Barrow-in-Furness

Primary
Academy converter
Mixed
Ages 311

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~659m)Possible (~942m)Unlikely (~1.2km)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Caroline Vernon
Pupils:156 / 210 capacity
LA:Westmorland and Furness
Phone:01229471350
Address:Mill Lane, Walney, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 3XY
Trust:SOUTH CUMBRIA MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:1 November 2022

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 6 months ago

Report card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)

Achievement
Needs Attention
Behaviour
Expected Standard
Personal Development
Expected Standard
Leadership
Needs Attention
Early Years
Needs Attention
Inspected 10 March 2026View full report
URN:149244
UKPRN:10090977
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Barrow and Furness
Urban/Rural:Urban: Further from a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Vickerstown School provides a caring, safe environment where pupils feel valued and behaviour is positive. The school has a strong focus on reading from the earliest years and offers pupils a broad range of enrichment activities including clubs, trips, and residential visits. Pupils develop good personal qualities through a well-designed programme celebrating diversity and teaching them about democracy and community responsibility.

Key Strengths

  • Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed
  • Warm relationships between staff and pupils, with the school being a calm and orderly place to learn
  • Strong personal development programme celebrating diversity, with pupils taking on meaningful leadership roles
  • Early reading curriculum helping pupils learn to read accurately
  • Wide range of clubs and visits including dance, art, football, and residential trips to cities

Areas for Improvement

  • Teaching does not help pupils learn consistently well, particularly in writing, spelling, handwriting and grammar
  • Teachers do not adapt teaching to meet individual pupil needs, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
  • Too few pupils reach expected standards by end of Year 6, with significant gaps for disadvantaged pupils
  • Early years staff lack precision in identifying what children need to learn next
  • Leadership and governance have been too slow addressing curriculum issues identified at previous inspection

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed.

Extracurricular Activities

Dance, art, football clubs, beach visits, library visits, church visits, residential visits to London and other cities

Vickerstown School requires significant improvement as it is performing significantly less well than expected across most areas. While safeguarding standards are met and the school has a calm, caring environment, teaching quality and pupil achievement need urgent attention.

At a Glance

18.2%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading-33ppMaths-30ppWriting-1pp

Reading has declined from 60% to 27%. Maths has declined from 53% to 23%. Writing has remained stable at around 62%.

Class Sizes

22.0

Avg class size

27.0

KS2

2

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

74%

Available places

156 pupils

210 capacity

54 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Barrow-in-Furness

Low pressure
New homes approved:269
Projected new pupils:67

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Barrow-in-Furness

Admissions Demand - Westmorland and Furness

Low demand0.65x oversubscription

Places available

2,627

Applications

1,698

Got 1st preference

97.9%

Got preferred school

99.4%

Primary admissions across Westmorland and Furness (2025/26)

Inspection History(2)

10 March 2026Report card
Achievement
Behaviour
Personal Development
Leadership
Early Years
4 November 2022

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

6.77828%

Overall absence

18.49315%

Persistent absence

146

Enrolments

Authorised5.31429%
Unauthorised1.46399%
Persistent (10%+)18.49315%
Severe (50%+)1.36986%

Absence trend

5.49623%
22/23
5.93241%
23/24
6.77828%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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