Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School is a small, below-average-sized primary in Blackburn serving a mobile community, including many pupils who speak English as an additional language and some who are new to the UK. The November 2025 full inspection found the school securely meeting expectations in most areas, with inclusion standing out as a strength. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils are happy, safe and behave very well. Leaders are highly attentive to individual needs. They use additional funding effectively, support disadvantaged pupils and pupils with EAL well, and identify and support SEND promptly. Reading and early years provision are strengths, the curriculum is well organised, and staff feel well supported. Attendance is improving, although absence and persistent absence remain above national averages. Notable areas for improvement are the teaching of writing—especially giving pupils enough practice in grammar, spelling and handwriting—governors’ understanding of curriculum priorities, and pupils’ ability to explain how the school’s values connect to fundamental British values. Published attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly in line overall, though recent data varies by subject and year; high pupil mobility means the data does not fully capture the school’s impact, and pupils who stay attain well.

Strengths

• Strong inclusion work that removes barriers and uses extra funding effectively.
• Effective support for disadvantaged pupils, including additional staff.
• Expert support for pupils who speak English as an additional language, including bilingual staff.
• Quick and accurate identification and support for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils behave very well and show high levels of self-control and respect.
• Clear, effective arrangements help new arrivals and pupils new to the UK settle quickly.
• A well-organised curriculum with communication, language, phonics and reading at its heart.
• Strong early years practice in language, stories, phonics and early writing.
• Staff feel valued and benefit from supportive training and workload consideration.
• Pupils develop personal knowledge, take on responsibilities and build positive relationships.
• Attendance is improving and persistent absence is reducing.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching of writing does not consistently give pupils enough practice in grammar, spelling and handwriting.
• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in handwriting, grammar and spelling.
• Governors’ understanding of the school’s curriculum priorities is not well developed.
• Pupils are less able to explain how the school’s values link to fundamental British values.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, although improving.

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 Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.6% 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 Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn 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 Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn received £7,448 and spent £7,437 for each of its 173 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £36,000 (£206 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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All schools in Blackburn · Blackburn with Darwen local authority: places and applications

What is Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn last inspected by Ofsted?

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn have?

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn has 173 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn cover?

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn?

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is at Lynwood Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 6HQ.