St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School
similar schools
St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Whitehaven for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 133 pupils and room for 150. About 12 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 54 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 59% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
High Street, Whitehaven, CA28 7PZ01946 691970st-james-inf.cumbria.sch.ukMrs Alex Moore headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 27 March 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
43 places were empty (32% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 19% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cumberland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (6), emotional and mental health (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 133 | 125 | 128 | 138 | 143 | 133 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 10% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 7% | 5% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 12% | 11% | 9% | 7% | 4% | 4% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 5% | 9% | 10% | 8% | 11% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 6% | 4% | 4% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 3.8% | 3.5% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 1.1% | 2.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 1.0% | 2.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 2.7% | 5.5% | 6.7% | 5.0% | 1.3% | 2.6% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St James' CofE Junior School | Church of England | 120 m | 156 | Report card 2026 | 75 | Compare |
| St Begh's Catholic Junior School | Roman Catholic | 830 m | 240 | Good 2023 | 15 | Compare |
| Bransty Primary School | Council | 950 m | 205 | Good 2023 | 23 | Compare |
| Monkwray Junior School | Council | 0.9 miles | 109 | Good 2023 | 23 | Compare |
| Jericho Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 363 | Good 2023 | 75 | Compare |
| St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School | Roman Catholic | 1.0 miles | 189 | Good 2024 | 66 | Compare |
| Kells Infant School | Council | 1.2 miles | 130 | No overall grade 2024 | 84 | Compare |
| Hensingham Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 120 | Good 2024 | 22 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School with the 46 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St James' CofE Junior School | Church of England | 120 m | 156 | Report card 2026 | 75 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 54 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 54% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 25 to 79. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.24 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.25 | 2024/25; 73 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School a good school?
It is about average. St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School scores 54 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 59% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 25 to 79, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School good at its last full inspection on 27 March 2024.
How many pupils does St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School have?
133 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 150 places, so it is 89% full.
Is St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 43 places were empty in 2024/25 (32% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School?
Pupils were in school 96.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School?
The average class had 25.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 25% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- High Street, Whitehaven, CA28 7PZ
- Telephone
- 01946 691970
- Website
- www.st-james-inf.cumbria.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Alex Moore
- Type of school
- Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Carlisle
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Ward
- Bransty
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 112297 · LAESTAB 9423210 · UKPRN 10080372
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.