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Black Combe Junior School

Primary · Millom · LA18 5DT

Data updated

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 2 July 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

89 pupils · 65% of 136 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
7–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
34.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
0% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
7.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.blackcombe.cumbria.sch.uk
URN
112160

In figures

Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 2 July 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

18 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
50%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
104
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
107
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school50%
Median of its 12 closest peers58.5%
Cumberland average56.3%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Saint Edmund's Roman Catholic Primary SchoolCalne · 198 miles awayRequires improvement39%
Marshland St James Primary and Nursery SchoolWisbech · 180 miles awayGood77%
Walcott Primary SchoolLincoln · 144 miles awayGood80%
Pelynt Primary AcademyCornwall · 271 miles awayGood70%
Higher Walton Church of England Primary SchoolPreston · 42 miles awayNeeds attention59%
Woolpit Primary AcademyBury St Edmunds · 221 miles awayGood29%
Chislet Church of England Primary SchoolCanterbury · 273 miles awayGood47%
Lutton St Nicholas Primary AcademySpalding · 170 miles awayRequires improvement60%
Winterton Primary School and NurseryGreat Yarmouth · 229 miles awayNeeds attention33%
Alderman Payne Primary SchoolWisbech · 173 miles awayGood75%
St Mary's Church of England Primary AcademyNorwich · 209 miles awayNot yet graded58%
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, SabdenClitheroe · 46 miles awayGood43%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 96% (Cumberland 88%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Cumberland 1%, England 3%) · Any other White background 2% (Cumberland 3%, England 7%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
25.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

1.18 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Cumberland: 1.65 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 15% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

42.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,191; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£9,592
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 73% (76%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (8%) · supplies and services 11% (9%) · educational supplies 8% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £49,754; in-year balance -£68,055

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications23.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work26.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways21.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health46.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier69.6%62.3%
Social housing22.9%17.1%
Privately rented7.3%20.5%
Detached houses20.5%22.9%
Flats3.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms15.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van21.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01019289 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£117,000207 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£78,000–£160,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (27)£260,000
Semi-detached (39)£150,000
Terraced (140)£96,000

Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
8a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
5a rural school averages 0.9

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools