Clitheroe Brookside Primary School

Clitheroe Brookside Primary School is a small school that has undergone significant leadership and staffing changes, including an acting executive headteacher since November 2025 and a reduced pupil roll. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils describe the school as safe and welcoming. Early years is a notable strength: children get a positive start, build strong relationships with staff, and achieve well, with leaders continually refining provision. However, most other areas require attention. Achievement in key stages 1 and 2 is below average, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils have gaps in important knowledge and struggle to recall learning over time. Curriculum and teaching are inconsistent, assessment is not used effectively to adapt lessons, and behaviour is not consistently positive; some pupils lose focus and older pupils struggle to resolve minor disagreements independently. Personal development is new and not yet having the intended impact, including limited understanding of other cultures and fundamental British values. Leaders have acted swiftly and accurately since the leadership changes, improving attendance monitoring, behaviour systems, staff morale, parental engagement, and extracurricular opportunities. But many changes are too new to show long-term impact, and governors' quality assurance of curriculum, teaching, and achievement needs development. The school is therefore on an improvement journey with clear foundations in early years and strong leadership intent, but significant work remains in teaching, inclusion, and outcomes.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives children a positive start and helps them feel happy and secure.
• Children in Reception achieve well and are typically well prepared for Year 1.
• Staff build nurturing relationships and meet children's personal needs effectively.
• Leaders have a clear and accurate view of early years and continually improve provision.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe at school.
• Leaders quickly gained a precise view of the school's strengths and priorities after significant leadership changes.
• Recent actions have reduced disruptive behaviour and significantly reduced suspensions.
• Attendance is typically in line with the national average, and leaders act swiftly on concerns.
• Staff morale is high, and leaders support staff wellbeing and professional development.
• The school offers a broad range of extracurricular activities with equitable access for all pupils.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online and in the wider world.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they could, with below-average outcomes in key stages 1 and 2.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not achieve well and are not prepared for their next steps.
• Pupils have gaps in important knowledge and skills and struggle to recall learning in the longer term.
• Curriculum and teaching are inconsistent because recent changes are not yet embedded.
• Assessment is not used effectively to inform teaching or adapt lessons to pupils' next steps.
• Additional support and resources do not ensure pupils secure the knowledge they need.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are not consistently well matched to their needs.
• Behaviour expectations are still being embedded, and some pupils lose concentration or become disengaged in lessons.
• Older pupils have not developed independent strategies to resolve minor disagreements with peers.
• The personal development programme is at an early stage and pupils' understanding of other cultures and fundamental British values is limited.
• Governors do not have robust enough processes to check the quality of curriculum, teaching, and achievement.

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 Clitheroe Brookside Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Clitheroe Brookside 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 Clitheroe Brookside Primary School had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 44.1% 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, 13.8% of pupils at Clitheroe Brookside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Clitheroe Brookside Primary School received £13,252 and spent £13,643 for each of its 87 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £44,000 (£505 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 Clitheroe · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Clitheroe Brookside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Clitheroe Brookside Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Clitheroe Brookside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Clitheroe Brookside Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Clitheroe Brookside Primary School have?

Clitheroe Brookside Primary School has 87 pupils on roll.

What age range does Clitheroe Brookside Primary School cover?

Clitheroe Brookside Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

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

Where is Clitheroe Brookside Primary School?

Clitheroe Brookside Primary School is at Bright Street, Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 1NW.