Kells Infant School
High Road, Kells, Whitehaven, CA28 9PQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Wendy Figes
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 160
- Pupils on roll
- 130
- URN
- 112169
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946691865
About this school
Kells Infant School is a community primary school in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 3 to 7 and has 130 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Kells Infant School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 117 |
| 2023/24 | 116 |
| 2024/25 | 116 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kells Infant School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.7% | 12.7% | 130 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School | 76% | 4.4% | 27.7% | 195 | 0.1 miles |
| Monkwray Junior School | 41% | 5.2% | 39.7% | 109 | 0.4 miles |
| St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School | — | 3.9% | 18.1% | 189 | 0.8 miles |
| St Begh's Catholic Junior School | 47% | 6.1% | 38.7% | 240 | 0.8 miles |
| Valley Primary School and Nursery | 36% | 6.9% | 42.5% | 286 | 1.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.68%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.73%
- Persistent absence
- 6.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Monkwray Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School0.8 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Begh's Catholic Junior School0.8 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Valley Primary School and Nursery1.1 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
Other schools in Whitehaven
- Bransty Primary School Primary
- Hensingham Primary School Primary
- Jericho Primary School Primary
- Lowca Community School Primary
- Monkwray Junior School Primary
- Moresby Primary School Primary
- St Begh's Catholic Junior School Primary
- St Bridget's CofE School Primary
- St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School Primary
- St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
- St James' CofE Junior School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Kells Infant School teach?
- Kells Infant School teaches children aged 3 to 7. It is a primary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of Kells Infant School?
- The headteacher of Kells Infant School is Mrs Wendy Figes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kells Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kells Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Kells Infant School?
- Kells Infant School has 130 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 7.
- Is Kells Infant School full?
- Kells Infant School has capacity for 160 pupils and 130 on roll (81%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Kells Infant School a faith school?
- No. Kells Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Kells Infant School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Kells Infant School as having nursery classes.
- What is Kells Infant School's absence rate?
- Kells Infant School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Kells Infant School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Kells Infant School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.