North Lakes School
General Information
- Address: Huntley Avenue, Penrith, CA11 8NU – View on map
- Phone: 01768899876
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Headteacher Nicole Spibey
- Age range: 7-11 years
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 53
- % eligible for free school meals: 32.9%
- Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (more mixed than the Westmorland and Furness average)
- English as an additional language: 19% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 26% a year (Westmorland and Furness 12.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 21% moved to another school, 79% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Westmorland and Furness: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Westmorland and Furness, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 6.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 14.3%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- Resourced provision for AutismSevere learning difficultiesProfound and multiple learning difficultiesPhysical disability 9 places · 7 pupils at the last count
Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.
- Pupils on SEN Support: 36.0%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 9.3%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 18 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 39% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 19 percentage points below the Westmorland and Furness average (58%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 38% against an expected 60%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 38%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 72% · Writing 61% · Maths 56% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 67%
- Average test scores: reading 103, maths 100
- Based on: 54 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 79th of 98 junior and primary schools in the area
- =76St Paul's CofE Junior School44%
- #78Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Barrow43%
- =79North Lakes School39%
- =79St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith39%
- =81Alston Primary School38%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
4th of 6 junior schools in Westmorland and Furness for Ofsted rating
- #2Victoria AcademyOutstanding
- #3Croftlands Junior SchoolGood
- #4North Lakes SchoolGood
- #5St James' CofE Junior SchoolGood
- #6St Paul's CofE Junior SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,863 (2024-25)
3rd of 8 junior schools in Westmorland and Furness for spending per pupil
- #1George Romney Junior School£13,496
- #2Greengate Junior School£11,022
- #3North Lakes School£7,863
- #4St James' CofE Junior School£7,862
- #5St Paul's CofE Junior School£7,607
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)