St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington

St Oswald’s Roman Catholic Primary School is a welcoming, high-performing primary where pupils enjoy school and are proud of their community. Inspectors found pupils’ behaviour and personal development to be particular strengths: pupils are polite, focused and mature, and they benefit from exceptionally well-planned opportunities to understand diversity, British values and their role in the wider world. Children settle quickly in the early years, staff know pupils well, and most pupils achieve well and are prepared for secondary school. The school has an ambitious curriculum designed for mixed-age classes, a strong focus on reading, and effective support for pupils with SEND. Leadership and governance are well connected to the community and manage staff workload sensibly. Safeguarding is effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic, following a long period of exemption after its previous outstanding judgement, and a new headteacher is now in post; schools inspected from September 2024 no longer receive an overall effectiveness grade. There are nonetheless important areas to improve. In a small number of subjects, including mathematics, the school has not set out clearly enough the order in which key knowledge should be taught, so teachers are sometimes unsure what to emphasise and pupils can develop gaps or misconceptions. Assessment is not used consistently well to check understanding and identify when pupils need extra support or practice, including for some pupils at the early stages of reading and for some children learning letter formation in the early years. The school should sharpen curriculum sequencing and make checks on learning more consistent.

Strengths

• Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable in lessons and around school, and they focus exceptionally well on learning.
• Personal development is exceptionally well thought out, helping pupils understand diversity and fundamental British values.
• Pupils are polite, considerate and mature, and older pupils set an excellent example for younger peers.
• The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils to contribute to the school and wider community.
• Children settle quickly in the early years and grow in confidence and independence.
• The curriculum is ambitious and adapted to the school’s small size and mixed-age classes.
• The school places a high focus on reading, and most pupils become accomplished readers by the end of Year 6.
• Staff have the knowledge to identify pupils with SEND, and most pupils with SEND achieve well.
• Leaders and governors know the community well and work closely together to support staff workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, including mathematics, the order in which key knowledge should be taught is not clear enough.
• Teachers are sometimes unsure what to focus on with different ages in mixed-age classes, leading to gaps or misconceptions.
• Assessment information is not used consistently to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Some pupils at the early stages of reading have not developed the fluency and accuracy they need.
• Some children in the early years do not learn to form letters correctly.
• The school does not ensure that prior learning is revisited and pupils’ understanding checked consistently before moving on.

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 Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.7% 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, 2.6% of pupils at St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington 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 Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% 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, 21.2% of pupils at St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington 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 Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington received £8,773 and spent £8,687 for each of its 144 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £100,000 (£695 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 Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington last inspected by Ofsted?

St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington have?

St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington has 151 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington cover?

St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington?

St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington is at Hartley Avenue, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 0NN.