Northern Primary School

Northern Primary School continues to demonstrate good overall performance as a small and caring institution where pupils thrive in their learning and personal development. The positive atmosphere cultivated by staff allows pupils to feel comfortable and valued, which enhances their engagement and participation in the academic and extracurricular offerings. Effective support for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ensures they access the same curriculum as their peers. However, there are identified areas for improvement, particularly regarding assessment strategies and the delivery of certain subjects where knowledge gaps are not promptly addressed.

Strengths

• A supportive and friendly school environment where pupils feel valued.
• Strong emphasis on early reading with well-trained staff.
• Effective support for students with SEND to access the curriculum.
• Diverse extracurricular opportunities for pupils to explore new interests.
• Positive relationships among pupils and staff promoting good behaviour.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects have teaching activities that do not support optimal learning.
• Assessment approaches in a few subjects are underdeveloped, leading to unaddressed knowledge gaps.

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 Northern Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.7% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Northern 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 Northern Primary School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.8% 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, 17.4% of pupils at Northern 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 Northern Primary School received £7,404 and spent £7,703 for each of its 161 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £66,000 (£408 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 Bacup · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Northern Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Northern Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Northern Primary School was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does Northern Primary School have?

Northern Primary School has 161 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northern Primary School cover?

Northern Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

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

Where is Northern Primary School?

Northern Primary School is at Burnley Road, Northern Primary School, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 8PH.