Kirkby Stephen Primary School
Nateby Road, Kirkby Stephen, CA17 4AE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Alison Capstick
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 256
- Pupils on roll
- 189
- URN
- 112180
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768371387
About this school
Kirkby Stephen Primary School is a community primary school in Kirkby Stephen. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 189 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 July 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 48 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 71% | 77% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 2% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 83% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 92% | 92% | 92% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 79% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Kirkby Stephen Primary 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 | Westmorland and Furness average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 73% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 77% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 231 |
| 2023/24 | 219 |
| 2024/25 | 196 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kirkby Stephen Primary School compares
Kirkby Stephen Primary School ranked 17th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 77% | 3.7% | 20.2% | 189 | — |
| Brough Community Primary School | 63% | 4.6% | 20% | 73 | 3.8 miles |
| Warcop CofE Primary School | 62% | 3.8% | 16.3% | 85 | 4.9 miles |
| Asby Endowed School | — | 4.4% | 6.3% | 20 | 6.6 miles |
| Orton CofE School | 57% | 2.7% | 14.9% | 47 | 9.4 miles |
| Appleby Primary School | 50% | 4.8% | 19.8% | 163 | 9.4 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)
- 20.23%
- English as an additional language
- 0.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.65%
- Persistent absence
- 6.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brough Community Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Brough
-
Warcop CofE Primary School4.9 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Asby Endowed School6.6 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Orton CofE School9.4 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Appleby Primary School9.4 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
Other schools in Kirkby Stephen
- Kirkby Stephen Grammar School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Kirkby Stephen Primary School teach?
- Kirkby Stephen Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Kirkby Stephen.
- Who is the headteacher of Kirkby Stephen Primary School?
- The headteacher of Kirkby Stephen Primary School is Mrs Alison Capstick, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kirkby Stephen Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kirkby Stephen Primary 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 Kirkby Stephen Primary School?
- Kirkby Stephen Primary School has 189 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Kirkby Stephen Primary School full?
- Kirkby Stephen Primary School has capacity for 256 pupils and 189 on roll (74%), 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 Kirkby Stephen Primary School a faith school?
- No. Kirkby Stephen Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Kirkby Stephen Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Kirkby Stephen Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Kirkby Stephen Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 77% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kirkby Stephen Primary School rank locally?
- Kirkby Stephen Primary School ranked 17th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kirkby Stephen Primary School's absence rate?
- Kirkby Stephen Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kirkby Stephen Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kirkby Stephen Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
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.