St Stephen's CofE Primary School

St Stephen’s C of E Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all inspected areas. The school creates a welcoming and safe environment where pupils are happy to attend and demonstrate positive behavior. Leaders have established a comprehensive and engaging curriculum that supports most pupils in achieving well, with a commendable focus on reading from an early age. The school's commitment to high expectations is evident, particularly in its inclusive approach towards pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, there are some areas needing improvement, specifically related to consistency in curriculum implementation and assessment practices across certain subjects.

Strengths

• High expectations of behavior and achievement for all pupils.
• Caring and welcoming school environment.
• Strong emphasis on reading and phonics leading to improved literacy outcomes.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, ensuring they learn alongside peers.
• Active involvement of pupils in school life and additional responsibilities.
• Well-trained staff delivering the phonics program effectively.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clarity on the key concepts for pupils to revisit for deeper learning.
• Assessment approaches in a few subjects do not effectively measure pupil understanding.
• Inconsistent curriculum delivery in some subjects due to insufficient staff training.

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 St Stephen's CofE Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.8% 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, 2.2% of pupils at St Stephen's CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 St Stephen's CofE Primary School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 10.9% of pupils at St Stephen's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 St Stephen's CofE Primary School received £7,005 and spent £6,979 for each of its 183 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £55,000 (£302 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 St Stephen's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Stephen's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was St Stephen's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Stephen's CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does St Stephen's CofE Primary School have?

St Stephen's CofE Primary School has 183 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Stephen's CofE Primary School cover?

St Stephen's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Stephen's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Stephen's CofE Primary School?

St Stephen's CofE Primary School is at Bent Spur Road, Kearsley, Bolton, Lancashire, BL4 8PB.