Victoria Infant and Nursery School, Workington
Victoria Infant and Nursery School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 7 in Workington. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2025 did not change this grade. It was 98% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2015)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cumberland (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Victoria Infant and Nursery School in detail
Getting a place at Victoria Infant and Nursery School
For September 2026 entry, 44 families put Victoria Infant and Nursery School as their first choice and 70 named it as one of their preferences, for 44 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Victoria Infant and Nursery School are Victoria Junior School (0.1 miles, Good, 52% reading, 49% maths); St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Workington (0.4 miles, 60% reading, 67% maths); Ashfield Infant & Nursery School (0.6 miles, Outstanding); and St Michael's Nursery and Infant School (0.6 miles, Good).
Victoria Junior SchoolSt Gregory's Catholic Primary School, WorkingtonAshfield Infant & Nursery SchoolSt Michael's Nursery and Infant School
What parents say
29 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Victoria Infant and Nursery School (as of September 2025): 83% would recommend the school, 93% say their child is happy there and 33% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (33%).
Who goes there
9.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (80%) and Black (7%).
Staffing
Victoria Infant and Nursery School had 29 teachers in 2026, one for every 7 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Workington Rail Station, about 1010 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Wastwater Avenue (near), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 267 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cumberland (22), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
Victoria Infant and Nursery School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Victoria Infant and Nursery School are St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington (0.4 miles); and Workington Academy (0.9 miles).
St Josephs Catholic High School, WorkingtonWorkington Academy
Sources: 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 · 1 year agoThis judgement is from January 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Victoria Infant and Nursery School excels at teaching reading through expert phonics instruction, helping children become confident and enthusiastic readers. The school provides exceptional support for pupils with SEND from the two-year-old stage onwards, with skilled staff ensuring these children access the full curriculum successfully. Pupils thrive in a warm, respectful environment where they take on responsibilities and learn to be positive members of their community.
Key Strengths
- Strong teaching of phonics and reading, with pupils becoming confident readers and developing a love of books
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND from the early years onwards, with skilled staff and well-chosen resources
- Consistent approach to curriculum delivery in reading, writing and mathematics, with effective identification and addressing of knowledge gaps
- High expectations of behaviour that pupils strive to meet, with opportunities to take on responsibilities and contribute to the community
- Effective early years provision with children developing confidence and following classroom routines well
Areas for Improvement
- In some foundation subjects, learning activities do not sufficiently build pupils' understanding of key knowledge and vocabulary, leaving their knowledge insecure
- Teachers in these subjects need better support to design activities that fully cover the intended curriculum content
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with the school creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Educational visits including residential trips, theatre trips, litter picks in the local area, breakfast club, after-school provision
Victoria Infant and Nursery School is a Good school that holds high ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND, and creates a respectful, safe environment where pupils work hard and achieve well across much of the curriculum.
At a Glance
19.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
29 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
17.9
Avg class size
22.6
Infant (KS1)
14
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Victoria Infant and Nursery School
Before and after school care
Victoria Infant 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
Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Victoria Infant 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)
- Collisions
- 23
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 19 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot.
6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School
Will you get a place at Victoria Infant and Nursery School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Victoria Infant and Nursery School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Victoria Infant and Nursery School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant 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
98%
Near capacity
197 pupils
202 places
5 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(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
32
SEN Support
9
EHC Plans
16.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
251
Total Pupils
136
Boys
115
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
29
Teachers
8.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£42,709
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,046
Per pupil
£1336k
Total funding
£67k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
7.1%
Persistent absence
141
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Victoria Infant and Nursery School
Questions parents ask about Victoria Infant and Nursery School
What is Victoria Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Victoria Infant and Nursery School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2015, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
No fixed boundary. When Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Victoria Infant and Nursery School was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Classes at Victoria Infant and Nursery School average 17.9 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Victoria Infant and Nursery School has around 251 pupils on roll. 19% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at Victoria Infant and Nursery School in 2024/25. 7.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Apply through Cumberland's coordinated admissions process, naming Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School's term dates?
Victoria Infant 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 Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 19 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot. 6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Cumberland is 5 (the median across 179 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Victoria Infant and Nursery School?
Victoria Infant and Nursery School is at Islay Place, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 3XB.
Sources: Cumberland term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)