Holy Trinity VC School

Holy Trinity VC School is a warm, close-knit Church of England primary where pupils are proud of their school and feel well cared for. Personal development is a clear strength: pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips, charity and community work, and they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Safeguarding is effective, staff morale is high, and leaders have responded to significant recent leadership changes with a strong focus on supporting pupils and staff emotionally. Early reading and phonics are also well embedded, with consistent teaching and quick support for pupils who fall behind. However, the school's academic work is not yet consistently strong. The reading curriculum beyond phonics lacks clarity, and staff are sometimes unsure what to prioritise. Assessment information is not used well enough to identify misconceptions and gaps, and subject leadership and monitoring do not yet give leaders an accurate picture of how well pupils are learning. As a result, too few pupils are ready for the next stage of their education, and pupils with SEND do not always achieve as well as they could despite being cared for extremely well. Attendance remains a serious concern, with too many pupils absent regularly, including persistent absence. Behaviour is generally positive, but some pupils disrupt others' breaktimes. The school has sensible improvement work under way, including rigorous attendance monitoring, but its impact is still emerging. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took that context into account.

Strengths

• Pupils are extremely proud of their school and feel cared for well.
• Warm, nurturing relationships create a close-knit community where pupils feel happy and welcome.
• Personal development is strong, with a wide range of clubs, trips, charity and community projects.
• Early reading and phonics are well embedded, with consistent delivery and quick support for pupils who fall behind.
• Pupils with SEND, especially those with complex needs, are identified quickly and cared for extremely well.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff morale is high, and leaders have placed a strong focus on emotional well-being and support.
• The curriculum is established across subjects from the early years to Year 6, with recent revisions supporting staff subject knowledge.
• The school uses rigorous attendance monitoring and strategic approaches to address low attendance.
• Pupils are generally polite, respectful and focused in lessons, and peer mediators act as positive role models.

Areas for Improvement

• The reading curriculum beyond phonics lacks clarity and guidance, limiting pupils' reading development and access to other subjects.
• The school does not have accurate enough information about how well pupils are learning or the impact of its actions.
• Assessment checks are not used consistently to identify and address misconceptions and gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Too many pupils, including persistently absent pupils, do not attend school regularly enough.
• Some pupils' behaviour disrupts others' recreational time at breaktimes.
• Subject leadership and monitoring need further strengthening.
• Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could because of a lack of clarity in some aspects of the curriculum.
• Too few pupils are ready for the next stage of their education, and the impact of curricular changes in the early years is still emerging.

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 Holy Trinity VC School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.8% 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 Holy Trinity VC 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 Holy Trinity VC School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 26.9% of pupils at Holy Trinity VC School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.1% 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 Holy Trinity VC School received £10,232 and spent £9,855 for each of its 119 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £67,000 (£564 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 Darwen · Blackburn with Darwen local authority: places and applications

What is Holy Trinity VC School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holy Trinity VC School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Holy Trinity VC School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holy Trinity VC School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Holy Trinity VC School have?

Holy Trinity VC School has 119 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holy Trinity VC School cover?

Holy Trinity VC School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Holy Trinity VC School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holy Trinity VC School?

Holy Trinity VC School is at Bank Top, Darwen, Lancashire, BB3 2RW.