Blackshaw Primary School

Blackshaw Primary School is a warm, welcoming community primary where pupils are happy, proud and behave well. Inspectors found good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision, with effective safeguarding. Pupils have mature attitudes to difference, positive learning attitudes and access to a broad curriculum and rich experiences, including reading, clubs, trips and leadership roles. The school has high expectations, identifies pupils with SEND quickly and includes them fully, and reading is a clear priority. Most pupils achieve well. Leaders provide strong support for staff workload and well-being, and governors offer effective challenge and support. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and followed the appointment of a new headteacher; under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade was given. There are two main areas to improve. In a small number of subjects, including some early years learning, curriculum content and sequencing are not precise enough, so teachers do not consistently build on prior knowledge. There is also variability in how well staff deliver the curriculum and check pupils' understanding, which limits some pupils' learning.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming community with happy and proud pupils
• Pupils behave well and have mature attitudes towards differences
• High expectations for achievement, including for pupils with SEND
• Broad and balanced curriculum in most subjects with clearly identified knowledge
• Pupils with SEND identified quickly and fully included
• Reading is a priority with a well-developed reading culture
• Effective phonics teaching and support for pupils who struggle with reading
• Calm, purposeful classrooms and respectful pupil behaviour
• Strong personal development through leadership roles, clubs, trips and community work
• Effective governance and positive staff support for workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum content and sequencing are not precise enough in a small number of subjects, including some early years areas
• Teachers do not consistently build new learning on pupils' prior knowledge in these subjects
• There is variability in how effectively staff implement subject curriculums
• Some staff do not routinely check how well pupils are learning
• This limits some pupils from learning as well as they could

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Blackshaw Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.4% of pupils at Blackshaw Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Blackshaw Primary School had 22.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 24.8% of pupils at Blackshaw Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Blackshaw Primary School received £6,912 and spent £6,957 for each of its 217 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £26,000 (-£120 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bolton · Bolton local authority: places and applications

What is Blackshaw Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blackshaw Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Blackshaw Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Blackshaw Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Blackshaw Primary School have?

Blackshaw Primary School has 218 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blackshaw Primary School cover?

Blackshaw Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Blackshaw Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Blackshaw Primary School?

Blackshaw Primary School is at Bideford Drive, Breightmet, Bolton, Lancashire, BL2 6TE.