Whittlefield Primary School

Whittlefield Primary School continues to demonstrate good overall performance, fostering a positive and caring environment where pupils feel safe and valued. The school's commitment to high expectations is evident in their ambitious goal for all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils exhibit good behavior and take pride in their learning, with leaders actively working to support both their academic and social development. While leaders are refining various subjects in their curriculum, the school has shown effective teaching practices, particularly in phonics and reading, ensuring strong pupil engagement and achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a strong sense of belonging and are excited to attend school.
• Staff provide effective support for students with special educational needs.
• The school's strong focus on reading fosters a love for books among pupils.
• Leaders have high expectations for pupil behavior which are met by the students.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff create a conducive learning environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum design is incomplete in a few subjects, affecting knowledge retention.
• A minority of pupils do not attend school regularly, hindering their learning.

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 Whittlefield Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.3% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Whittlefield 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 Whittlefield Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.3% 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, 27.7% of pupils at Whittlefield Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Whittlefield Primary School received £8,341 and spent £8,651 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £120,000 (£638 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 Burnley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Whittlefield Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Whittlefield Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whittlefield Primary School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Whittlefield Primary School have?

Whittlefield Primary School has 188 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whittlefield Primary School cover?

Whittlefield Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

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

Where is Whittlefield Primary School?

Whittlefield Primary School is at Tabor Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0HL.