Samlesbury Church of England School

Samlesbury Church of England School is a small, inclusive village school with a strong family ethos. Pupils are safe, valued and well supported, and safeguarding standards are met. The school is performing at the expected standard overall, with notable strengths in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and personal development. Pupils attend regularly and behave exceptionally well, creating a calm and orderly environment. Inclusion is a central strength, with effective support for pupils with additional needs and disadvantaged pupils. The personal development programme is rich, and pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. The curriculum is broad and well adapted, and early years provides a positive start, though the updated early years curriculum and phonics approach are not yet fully embedded. Leadership and governance are effective, with ambitious leaders who support staff well and governors who hold leaders to account. The next steps are to continue evaluating the curriculum in light of the school's changing context and to ensure the recently updated early years curriculum, including phonics, is taught consistently well across all classes.

Strengths

• Attendance is a collective responsibility, with pupils keen to be in school and persistent absence very low.
• Pupils' behaviour is commendable, creating a calm, orderly and disruption-free learning environment.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with effective early identification and support for pupils with additional needs.
• Pupils benefit from a rich personal development programme that builds confidence, responsibility and respect.
• Pupils achieve well by the end of Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils, in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The curriculum is broad, logical and well adapted for mixed-age classes, with effective teaching strategies.
• Early years provides a warm, language-rich environment where children make steady progress and behave very positively.
• Leadership and governance are ambitious, supportive and effective in holding leaders to account.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and well-trained staff.
• The school's small size fosters a strong sense of community and a family-like ethos.
• Pupils take pride in leadership roles and benefit from trips and experiences that broaden their horizons.
• Pupils are well prepared for secondary school and develop into thoughtful, responsible young people.

Areas for Improvement

• The recently updated early years curriculum, including the teaching of phonics, is not yet fully embedded and is not taught consistently well across all classes.
• Leaders should continue to evaluate the curriculum carefully, using analysis of the school's evolving context to inform changes that deepen pupils' learning.

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 Samlesbury Church of England School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.9% 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 Samlesbury Church of England 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 Samlesbury Church of England School had 17.9 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, 5.9% of pupils at Samlesbury Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Samlesbury Church of England School received £8,951 and spent £9,173 for each of its 68 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £60,000 (£889 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 Samlesbury Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Samlesbury Church of England School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Samlesbury Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

Samlesbury Church of England School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Samlesbury Church of England School have?

Samlesbury Church of England School has 68 pupils on roll.

What age range does Samlesbury Church of England School cover?

Samlesbury Church of England School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Samlesbury Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Samlesbury Church of England School?

Samlesbury Church of England School is at Potters Lane, Samlesbury, Preston, Lancashire, PR5 0UE.