St Thomas's CofE Primary School
General Information
- Address: Kendal Green, Kendal, LA9 5PP – View on map
- Phone: 01539737373
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Sarah Cunliffe
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 23 families put it first for 23 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 11 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 54
- % eligible for free school meals: 22.6%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the Westmorland and Furness average)
- English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 10.2% a year (Westmorland and Furness 12.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 36% moved to another school, 64% 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: 4.8%
- Persistently absent pupils: 9.8%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 21.8%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.3%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 14 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 9 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
- Physical disability: 5 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
No overall grade given 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 48% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 10 percentage points below the Westmorland and Furness average (58%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 60% against an expected 63%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 60%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 65% · Writing 65% · Maths 77% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 71%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 106
- Based on: 31 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 71st of 98 junior and primary schools in the area
- =66St George's CofE School50%
- =71St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow48%
- =71St Thomas's CofE Primary School48%
- =73Newbarns Primary and Nursery School47%
- =73St Martin & St Mary Church of England Primary School47%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,044 (2024-25)
92nd of 101 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for spending per pupil
- #90Heron Hill Primary School£6,147
- #91Grange CofE Primary School£6,102
- #92St Thomas's CofE Primary School£6,044
- #93Holy Family Catholic Primary School£6,021
- #94St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston£5,937
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)