Ribblesdale School

Ribblesdale School is an all-through community school for pupils aged 4 to 16. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took place after the school opened a primary building in 2023, currently catering for Reception and Year 1 children about a mile from the secondary site. The school has high aspirations for all pupils, including in the early years, and pupils generally achieve well across a wide range of subjects. Pupils are polite, respectful and enjoy school, classrooms are calm and orderly, and attendance is improving over time. Personal development is a particular strength: pupils benefit from a rich programme of enrichment, leadership opportunities, community involvement and careers guidance, and all pupils move on to further education, employment or training. Reading is a high priority, with phonics starting in the early years and effective support for weaker readers. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff, governors and leaders are well supported.

Strengths

• High aspirations for all pupils, including children in the early years
• Pupils are polite, respectful and enjoy coming to school
• Ambitious, well-designed curriculum across primary and secondary phases
• Strong personal development with a wide range of enrichment opportunities
• Reading is a high priority, with effective phonics and support for weaker readers
• Calm and orderly classrooms with positive staff-pupil relationships
• Effective attendance monitoring and improving attendance over time
• Comprehensive careers advice and guidance, with all pupils progressing to further education, employment or training
• Staff feel supported with their well-being and workload
• Governors support the school effectively, including the development of the primary school
• SEND needs are identified quickly and support is mainly appropriate
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff design activities that do not help pupils build understanding sufficiently well
• Some pupils, including some with SEND, do not learn as well as they could because of weaker activity design
• Some checks on learning do not identify or address gaps and misconceptions promptly
• Some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready
• Year 11 pupils underachieved in a small number of subjects in 2024, though the school has since improved those curriculums

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 Ribblesdale School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 2.8% of pupils at Ribblesdale School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Ribblesdale School had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 8.9% of pupils at Ribblesdale School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Ribblesdale School received £7,937 and spent £8,061 for each of its 1,437 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £4,000 (-£3 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 Clitheroe · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Ribblesdale School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ribblesdale School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Ribblesdale School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ribblesdale School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Ribblesdale School have?

Ribblesdale School has 1,437 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ribblesdale School cover?

Ribblesdale School for pupils aged 4 to 16.

What are Ribblesdale School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.9, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ribblesdale School?

Ribblesdale School is at Queens Road, Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 1EJ.