Kelbrook Primary School

Kelbrook Primary School is a small primary school that was inspected in September 2026. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school is generally performing securely: attendance and behaviour are strong, while achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and personal development are all at the expected standard. Pupils are proud of their school, behave excellently, attend well and benefit from a calm, caring and inclusive culture. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, phonics is taught consistently well, children get a positive start in the early years, and pupils with SEND are identified and supported effectively. Personal development is broad, and pastoral support, governance and community partnerships are strengths. The main areas for improvement are in the consistency of teaching and how well staff check understanding. In a small number of lessons, misconceptions are not picked up quickly enough, some activities do not allow pupils to learn as much as they could, and some staff lack confidence in using a range of strategies. Leaders should also broaden professional learning opportunities so staff can design activities that deepen pupils' learning. Published data also highlights a notable disadvantage gap, although small cohorts mean much of the underlying data is suppressed. Overall, this is a school with a strong behavioural and attendance culture and secure provision across most areas. Leaders know the school well and are focused on continued improvement, particularly in making teaching more consistently effective so that all pupils build securely on prior knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils behave excellently and the school environment is calm and orderly.
• Attendance is above the national average, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils enjoy school and value the wide range of opportunities available to them.
• Leaders have established an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum.
• Phonics is taught consistently well and supports increasingly fluent reading.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start and secure foundations.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported effectively.
• Personal development is well sequenced and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Pastoral support and mental health provision are effective.
• Governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Parents are highly appreciative and external partnerships strengthen provision.
• Staff value the collaborative culture and leaders consider workload and wellbeing.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils' gaps in prior knowledge are not consistently identified and addressed.
• In some lessons, staff lack confidence in using different strategies to support learning.
• Some activities do not enable pupils to learn all that they could.
• Teachers do not always identify and address misconceptions quickly enough.
• Professional learning opportunities for staff could be broadened.
• Published data shows disadvantaged pupils' attainment is below national averages, with a large disadvantage gap.

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 Kelbrook Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.5% 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 Kelbrook 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 Kelbrook Primary School had 19.2 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, 15.6% of pupils at Kelbrook Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% 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 Kelbrook Primary School received £7,265 and spent £7,250 for each of its 96 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £32,000 (£332 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 Barnoldswick · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Kelbrook Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kelbrook Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Kelbrook Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kelbrook Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Kelbrook Primary School have?

Kelbrook Primary School has 96 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kelbrook Primary School cover?

Kelbrook Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kelbrook Primary School?

Kelbrook Primary School is at School Street, Kelbrook, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, BB18 6UD.