St Stephen's Church of England Primary School

Ofsted has judged St Stephen's Church of England Primary School to require significant improvement following its April 2026 full inspection. The school is a larger-than-average Church of England primary in Blackburn, part of the Diocese of Blackburn, serving an area with well-above-average deprivation. Most pupil groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, are broadly in line with national averages, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils generally feel safe and benefit from an open safeguarding culture. The inspection found considerable strengths in early years, inclusion and personal development. Children settle quickly into Reception and benefit from a well-considered early curriculum, skilled support for EAL and communication needs, and secure foundations in early reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, disadvantaged pupils access trips and enrichment, and the personal development programme promotes safety, wellbeing, responsibility, tolerance and aspirations. Attendance is a strength, with particularly effective support for disadvantaged pupils. However, the school is significantly underperforming in several important areas. Pupils do not build secure knowledge or subject vocabulary across the wider curriculum, and teaching and assessment in some subjects are not effective enough. Leadership and governance have not ensured a well-designed curriculum across all subjects or dealt successfully with bullying and poor behaviour. Some pupils' behaviour is not consistently good, sanctions are sometimes inappropriate, and some pupils and parents have lost trust. Attendance and behaviour require urgent improvement, and leaders must act on the next steps to improve behaviour, curriculum, teaching and governor oversight.

Strengths

• Kind and caring staff help children settle quickly and gain confidence in Reception.
• Early years curriculum is carefully planned around children's starting points, including EAL and communication needs.
• Basic skills in early reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised well.
• Staff quickly identify pupils with additional needs and provide targeted support.
• Leaders work effectively with health and other professionals to meet SEND and medical needs.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used well to broaden horizons through trips and visits.
• Pupils in care or previously in care are well supported through multi-agency work.
• Personal development is carefully designed and takes the local context into account.
• Pupils learn about staying safe, including online, and about fundamental British values.
• Pupils can participate equally in clubs and enrichment activities, including basketball, archery and debating.
• Pupils develop responsibility and teamwork through plentiful leadership roles.
• Targeted pastoral support helps pupils with mental health and wellbeing.
• Pupils understand different cultures, religions and family types and welcome new arrivals.
• English and mathematics outcomes are close to national averages by the end of Year 6.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment in reading and mathematics is above national averages.
• Attendance is broadly in line with national averages, with disadvantaged pupils attending better than disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Most staff have high expectations and many pupils show positive attitudes to learning.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties and are committed to school improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not develop a secure body of knowledge across the wider curriculum.
• Pupils struggle to make effective connections with earlier learning in some subjects.
• Pupils do not use subject-specific vocabulary confidently.
• Gaps in pupils' prior knowledge are not addressed well enough.
• Leaders have not fully addressed the previous area for improvement in curriculum design.
• Important knowledge is not clearly identified in all subjects.
• Staff do not have the skills to teach some subjects as confidently or effectively as others.
• Checks on pupils' learning in some wider curriculum subjects are not consistently effective.
• Leaders have not ensured bullying and poor behaviour are dealt with quickly or effectively.
• Some pupils have experienced unchecked bullying over time.
• Sanctions, including suspensions, are sometimes not used appropriately or effectively.
• Some pupils do not behave as well as they should, including at playtimes and when unsupervised.
• Some pupils do not receive the support they need to improve their behaviour.
• Frequent changes to the governing body have affected governors' capacity to check some aspects of the school's work.
• Governors have not checked that pupils are achieving well across all areas of the curriculum.
• Some parents and staff do not feel listened to or valued, and some have lost trust in leaders and governors.

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 St Stephen's Church of England Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.0% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Stephen's Church of England 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 St Stephen's Church of England Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.2% 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, 15.1% of pupils at St Stephen's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 St Stephen's Church of England Primary School received £7,045 and spent £7,178 for each of its 392 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £199,000 (£508 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).

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What is St Stephen's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Stephen's Church of England Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Stephen's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Stephen's Church of England Primary School have?

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School has 392 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Stephen's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Stephen's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Stephen's Church of England Primary School?

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School is at Robinson Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 5PE.