Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School
Laning, Dent, Sedbergh, LA10 5QJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Farrell
- Diocese
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Morecambe and Lunesdale
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 56
- Pupils on roll
- 30
- URN
- 112331
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01539625259
About this school
Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Sedbergh. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 30 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 43% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 14% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 43% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 86% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 57% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 104.0 | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | - |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.20 | - | - |
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 Dent CofE Voluntary Aided 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 | 63% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41 |
| 2023/24 | 31 |
| 2024/25 | 27 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 3.5% | 16% | 30 | — |
| Sedbergh Primary School | 35% | 3.7% | 4.9% | 168 | 4.0 miles |
| Leck St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 40% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 38 | 7.4 miles |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School | 70% | 3% | 5.5% | 220 | 7.9 miles |
| Ingleton Primary School | 56% | 3.5% | 7.6% | 191 | 9.0 miles |
| Old Hutton CofE School | 54% | 4.2% | 7.1% | 78 | 9.0 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)
- 16%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 3.51%
- Persistent absence
- 0%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sedbergh Primary School4.0 miles
Primary · Sedbergh
-
Leck St Peter's Church of England Primary School7.4 miles
Primary · Via Carnforth
-
St Mary's CofE Primary School7.9 miles
Primary · Carnforth
-
Ingleton Primary School9.0 miles
Primary · Carnforth
-
Old Hutton CofE School9.0 miles
Primary · Kendal
Other schools in Sedbergh
- Sedbergh Primary School Primary
- Settlebeck School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School teach?
- Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sedbergh.
- Who is the headteacher of Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- The headteacher of Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School is Mrs Emma Farrell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dent CofE Voluntary Aided 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 Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School has 30 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School full?
- Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School has capacity for 56 pupils and 30 on roll (54%), 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 Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
- Does Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 43% in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School's absence rate?
- Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dent CofE Voluntary Aided 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.