Dearham Primary School
The Went, Dearham, Maryport, CA15 7HR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHANGING LIVES LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Samantha Busigny
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Changing Lives Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 271
- Pupils on roll
- 202
- URN
- 137602
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01900812518
About this school
Dearham Primary School is a primary academy in Maryport. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 202 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dearham Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- 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 | 36 | 31 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 45% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 68% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 61% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 68% | 61% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.60 | - | - |
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 Dearham 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 240 |
| 2023/24 | 224 |
| 2024/25 | 223 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dearham Primary School compares
Dearham Primary School ranked 53rd of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 5.6% | 20.2% | 202 | — |
| Crosscanonby St John's CofE School | 18% | 9.8% | 27.8% | 51 | 1.3 miles |
| Ellenborough Academy | — | 4.4% | 46.2% | 50 | 1.7 miles |
| Netherton Infant School | — | 6.3% | 35.1% | 69 | 1.7 miles |
| Broughton Moor Primary School | — | — | — | — | 1.8 miles |
| Ewanrigg Junior School | 48% | 6% | 63.3% | 133 | 1.8 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)
- 20.21%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.64%
- Persistent absence
- 16.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Crosscanonby St John's CofE School1.3 miles
Primary · Maryport
-
Ellenborough Academy1.7 miles
Primary · Maryport
-
Netherton Infant School1.7 miles
Primary · Maryport
-
Broughton Moor Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Maryport
-
Ewanrigg Junior School1.8 miles
Primary · Maryport
Other schools in Maryport
Dearham Primary School ranks 1st of the 6 ranked primary schools in Maryport.
- Allonby Primary School Primary
- Broughton Moor Primary School Primary
- Crosscanonby St John's CofE School Primary
- Ellenborough Academy Primary
- Ewanrigg Junior School Primary
- Flimby Primary School Primary
- Grasslot Infant School Primary
- Holme St Cuthbert School Primary
- Maryport CofE Primary School Primary
- Netherton Infant School Primary
- Our Lady and St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Maryport Primary
- Netherhall School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Dearham Primary School teach?
- Dearham Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Maryport.
- Who is the headteacher of Dearham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Dearham Primary School is Ms Samantha Busigny, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dearham Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dearham 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 many pupils are at Dearham Primary School?
- Dearham Primary School has 202 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Dearham Primary School full?
- Dearham Primary School has capacity for 271 pupils and 202 on roll (75%), 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 Dearham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Dearham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Dearham Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dearham Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Dearham Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Dearham Primary School is part of CHANGING LIVES LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dearham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dearham Primary School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Dearham Primary School ranked 53rd of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dearham Primary School's absence rate?
- Dearham Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dearham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dearham 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 1 July 2026.