Catforth Primary School

Catforth Primary School continues to perform well and maintains its good status following the recent inspection. The school demonstrates a commitment to high expectations for all pupils, effectively preparing many, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), for their future education. A positive atmosphere permeates the school environment, where pupils feel safe, respected, and are encouraged to take on various responsibilities. Engagement in charitable activities enhances their understanding of empathy and social responsibility. Despite the overall strengths, there are areas where the curriculum needs refinement. While the school effectively delivers many subjects, there are a few instances where not all key knowledge from the national curriculum is fully covered. This gap means that pupils may not deepen their understanding as much as they could in those subjects. Continuous communication with parents and the support provided to staff further strengthen the school’s community, indicating a positive direction for future growth.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupil achievement.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff.
• Effective phonics program leading to confident readers.
• Broad range of books fostering vocabulary development.
• Commitment to pupils' wider development through extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects do not cover all national curriculum content sufficient for deepening knowledge.

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 Catforth Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Catforth 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 Catforth Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Catforth Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 Catforth Primary School received £8,518 and spent £8,727 for each of its 101 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£584 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Catforth Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Catforth Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was Catforth Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Catforth Primary School was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does Catforth Primary School have?

Catforth Primary School has 100 pupils on roll.

What age range does Catforth Primary School cover?

Catforth Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Catforth Primary School?

Catforth Primary School is at School Lane, Catforth, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 0HL.