Queen's Drive Primary School

Queen's Drive Primary School is a happy, welcoming community primary where pupils feel safe, attend regularly and behave well. The school has high aspirations for pupils, and most achieve well through an ambitious curriculum that is well organised in most subjects. Reading is central to the school’s work, early reading and phonics are taught effectively, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Personal development is a particular strength, with pupils benefiting from a broad range of experiences, leadership roles and opportunities to develop respect for different faiths and cultures. Safeguarding is effective, and leaders and governors know the school well. There are some areas for improvement. In a few subjects and early years areas of learning, the school has not set out precisely what pupils should learn and when, which limits how deeply pupils learn in those areas. In some subjects, the school’s checks on how well the curriculum is helping pupils to know and remember more are at an early stage, so leaders do not yet have a clear enough picture of impact. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was inspected under the graded inspection arrangements that do not result in an overall effectiveness grade. The school was previously judged outstanding in 2013, and the headteacher was appointed in September 2022.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and attend regularly.
• Warm relationships between pupils and staff create a supportive environment.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and lessons are calm and purposeful.
• The school promotes high aspirations and most pupils achieve well.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well organised in most subjects.
• Teachers are well supported and deliver the curriculum clearly.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and achieve well.
• Reading is central to the curriculum and early reading is taught effectively.
• Pupils benefit from high-quality texts and school libraries.
• Personal development provision is a strength of the school.
• Pupils develop respect for different faiths and cultures.
• Pupils have a broad range of experiences beyond the classroom.
• Pupils take on leadership roles and make a difference to the school.
• Governors support and challenge leaders effectively.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value professional development.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects and early years areas of learning, the precise knowledge pupils should learn and when it should be taught is not clearly identified.
• In these areas, staff are less certain about what to teach, which limits pupils’ learning.
• In some subjects, checks on the impact of the curriculum are at an early stage.
• Leaders do not yet have a clear enough understanding of how well the curriculum helps pupils to know and remember more in some subjects.

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 Queen's Drive Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Queen's Drive 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 Queen's Drive Primary School had 24.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.6% 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, 8.1% of pupils at Queen's Drive Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Queen's Drive Primary School received £6,423 and spent £6,454 for each of its 434 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £209,000 (£481 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 Queen's Drive Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Queen's Drive Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Queen's Drive Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Queen's Drive Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Queen's Drive Primary School have?

Queen's Drive Primary School has 434 pupils on roll.

What age range does Queen's Drive Primary School cover?

Queen's Drive Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Queen's Drive Primary School?

Queen's Drive Primary School is at Black Bull Lane, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 3LA.