Bradley Primary School

Bradley Primary School continues to demonstrate a good level of performance, maintaining its commitment to high expectations for pupil behavior and an ambitious curriculum tailored to its students' needs. The school provides excellent support for pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, ensuring that they make significant progress. Pupils display excellent manners and engage enthusiastically in their learning, benefiting from a range of extracurricular activities that enrich their school experience. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly concerning the curriculum inconsistency across some subjects where important knowledge is not clearly defined. This gap can hinder some pupils' learning experiences and overall achievement. Additionally, although the governance structure is in place, governors have not provided sufficient challenge regarding the quality of education, which may limit the school's potential for further improvement. The recent inspection marks the first routine evaluation since the pandemic, emphasizing the school's efforts to adapt and recover post-COVID-19.

Strengths

• Pupils behave impeccably and are respectful towards one another.
• Strong support system for pupils with special educational needs.
• Staff are effectively trained in teaching phonics.
• Pupils enjoy a wide variety of extracurricular clubs.
• A calm and purposeful atmosphere enhances learning.
• Well-developed systems to monitor and improve attendance.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum not fully defined in a small number of subjects.
• Governors do not hold school accountable for educational quality.

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 Bradley Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Bradley 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 Bradley Primary School had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.9% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Bradley Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Bradley Primary School received £7,648 and spent £7,747 for each of its 417 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £242,000 (£581 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 Nelson · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Bradley Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Bradley Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bradley Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Bradley Primary School have?

Bradley Primary School has 417 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bradley Primary School cover?

Bradley Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bradley Primary School?

Bradley Primary School is at Dover Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7RF.