Burnley Springfield Community Primary School

Burnley Springfield Community Primary School was judged good across all inspected areas in this July 2025 graded inspection: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are safe, happy and proud to attend, relationships are warm and caring, and staff know pupils and families well. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, and most pupils achieve well from their starting points. The curriculum is ambitious and interesting, reading has a sharp focus from Reception, pupils typically behave well, and personal development is well considered. Leaders and governors understand the school's strengths and next steps, staff feel supported, and parents are positive. Inspectors identified a small number of areas for improvement. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, but records of actions taken in response to concerns sometimes lack sufficient clarity, which can hinder oversight. In a few subjects, activities do not help pupils connect new learning with prior knowledge, limiting depth of understanding. Writing is less consistently taught and corrected, including early years letter formation and common errors across the curriculum. Some pupils who join mid-year, especially in upper key stage 2, have not benefited from the curriculum over time, which can limit attainment in national tests. This was a graded section 5 inspection. Schools inspected from September 2024 do not receive an overall effectiveness grade, and the previous inspection grade was good. The school is a maintained primary for pupils aged 4 to 11, with 208 pupils on roll.

Strengths

• Warm, caring relationships and a strong sense of community help pupils feel safe, happy and included.
• Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, and most pupils achieve well from their starting points.
• The curriculum is ambitious and interesting, with key knowledge identified and local knowledge used to engage pupils.
• Reading is a sharp focus from Reception, with effective support for pupils who struggle to keep up.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively, including through external agencies and staff training.
• Pupils typically behave well, are polite and respectful, and cooperate harmoniously at playtimes.
• Pupils benefit from well-considered wider opportunities, including clubs, visits and learning about British values and safety.
• Leaders and governors understand the school's strengths and next steps; staff feel supported and parents are positive.
• Attendance is carefully checked and is improving, with staff working closely with families to remove barriers.
• Early years children settle happily, build confidence in communication and language, and learn routines quickly.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective overall, with an open culture focused on pupils' interests.

Areas for Improvement

• Safeguarding records sometimes lack sufficient clarity about the action taken in response to concerns, hindering oversight.
• In a few subjects, activities do not help pupils connect new learning with prior knowledge, limiting depth of understanding.
• Writing is not consistently taught or corrected; early years letter formation and common errors across the curriculum are sometimes missed.
• Some pupils joining mid-year, especially in upper key stage 2, have not benefited from the curriculum over time, which can limit attainment in national tests.

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 Burnley Springfield Community Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.9% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Burnley Springfield Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Burnley Springfield Community Primary School had 21.6 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, 24.6% of pupils at Burnley Springfield Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 Burnley Springfield Community Primary School received £9,257 and spent £9,448 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £156,000 (£768 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 Burnley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Burnley Springfield Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Burnley Springfield Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Burnley Springfield Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Burnley Springfield Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Burnley Springfield Community Primary School have?

Burnley Springfield Community Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Burnley Springfield Community Primary School cover?

Burnley Springfield Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Burnley Springfield Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Burnley Springfield Community Primary School?

Burnley Springfield Community Primary School is at Oxford Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3HP.