Valley Primary School and Nursery
Whinlatter Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8DA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Jardine
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 294
- Pupils on roll
- 286
- URN
- 134214
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946694152
About this school
Valley Primary School and Nursery is a community primary school in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 286 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 March 2024, 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 | 41 | 33 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 49% | 45% | 36% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 73% | 39% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 52% | 55% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 67% | 42% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 98.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 100.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.50 | - | - |
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 Valley Primary School and Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 36% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 273 |
| 2023/24 | 279 |
| 2024/25 | 288 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Valley Primary School and Nursery compares
Valley Primary School and Nursery ranked 100th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36% | 6.9% | 42.5% | 286 | — |
| St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School | — | 3.9% | 18.1% | 189 | 0.7 miles |
| Hensingham Primary School | 50% | 4.9% | 30.8% | 120 | 0.8 miles |
| Monkwray Junior School | 41% | 5.2% | 39.7% | 109 | 1.0 miles |
| Jericho Primary School | 89% | 4.3% | 11.3% | 363 | 1.0 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School | 76% | 4.4% | 27.7% | 195 | 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)
- 42.5%
- English as an additional language
- 5.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.88%
- Persistent absence
- 21.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Hensingham Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Monkwray Junior School1.0 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Jericho Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
Other schools in Whitehaven
Valley Primary School and Nursery ranks 11th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Whitehaven.
- Bransty Primary School Primary
- Hensingham Primary School Primary
- Jericho Primary School Primary
- Kells Infant 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Valley Primary School and Nursery teach?
- Valley Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of Valley Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of Valley Primary School and Nursery is Mrs Sarah Jardine, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Valley Primary School and Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Valley Primary School and Nursery, 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 Valley Primary School and Nursery?
- Valley Primary School and Nursery has 286 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Valley Primary School and Nursery full?
- Valley Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 294 pupils and 286 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Valley Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Valley Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Valley Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Valley Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have Valley Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 49% in 2022/23 and 36% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Valley Primary School and Nursery rank locally?
- Valley Primary School and Nursery ranked 100th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Valley Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Valley Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Valley Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Valley Primary School and Nursery'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 1 July 2026.