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Pendle Primary Academy

Primary Ages 4-11 415 pupils Nelson
Ofsted: Expected standard
All schools in Nelson

Pendle Primary Academy is an academy sponsor led in Nelson for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has 415 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Pendle Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026. In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: January 2026. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy sponsor led
Age Range 4-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Walter Street
Brierfield
Nelson
Lancashire
BB9 5AW
Phone 01282615927
Reference Number 139053

General Makeup

Number of pupils 415
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 49.88%
Girls: 50.12%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 30.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 90.4%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 29.6
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 28.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 30.6

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 31 27 58
2 27 33 60
3 33 25 58
4 34 30 64
5 31 33 64
6 33 26 59

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
Pakistani 81.2%
Asian, Other 11.6%
White, British 2.4%
White, Other 0.7%
African 0.7%
Mixed, Other 0.7%
Indian 0.5%
White & Black (African) 0.5%
White & Asian 0.2%

Overall Ofsted Rating Expected standard
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
 >  Early Years Expected standard
Last Report Date 25 Nov 2025
Date Report
25 Nov 2025 School inspection
08 Mar 2022 School inspection
26 Mar 2019 Short inspection
11 Feb 2015 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 64%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 5%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 105
Maths 105

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 0.3
Writing 2.8
Maths 2.6

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 14 4
Third Preference 5 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Pendle Primary Academy had 424 pupils for 420 places. That is 4 more pupils than the school has room for.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Pendle/Brierfield Primary” planning area

Lancashire counted 136 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 118 in 2029–30, down 13%.

201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 420420420420420420420420420420420420
Pupils 390409414406422417425414413417420424
Unfilled 7.1%2.6%1.4%3.3%0.0%0.7%0.0%1.4%1.7%0.7%0.0%0.0%

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 Pendle Primary Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.5%3.5%3.6%3.6%3.7%2.8%3.3%5.0%5.2%4.6%4.0%
Unauthorised absence 0.7%0.5%0.8%1.2%1.3%1.8%3.5%2.3%2.7%2.7%1.9%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.3%1.6%0.3%1.9%0.8%0.3%2.7%0.5%1.3%0.3%

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 Pendle Primary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.20.00.00.0
Permanent exclusions 000000000000

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 Pendle Primary Academy had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.510.19.610.610.110.710.59.69.89.610.210.09.0
Teachers who left state teaching 9.2%0.0%5.9%3.2%5.2%5.5%0.0%5.1%0.0%1.5%9.9%5.2%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 41.7%28.6%47.6%42.9%57.1%36.4%–13.6%57.1%54.5%52.2%61.9%–
Sick days per teacher 2.80.82.21.71.81.0–0.75.85.64.93.0–

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, 12.0% of pupils at Pendle Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Moderate learning difficulty 34 0
Speech, language and communication needs 9 6
Autistic spectrum disorder 4 9
Hearing impairment 2 0
Other difficulty or disability 1 1
Severe learning difficulty 0 1

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 2024–25 Pendle Primary Academy received £6,619 and spent £6,350 for each of its 423 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £734,000 (£1,736 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Pendle Education Trust, income was £7,922 and spending £7,503 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £494,000£544,000£467,000£411,000£493,000£596,000£734,000
per pupil £1,176£1,298£1,135£1,001£1,193£1,445£1,736
In-year balance -£25,000£40,000-£90,000£72,000£85,000£82,000£114,000
per pupil -£61£96-£219£175£205£199£269

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

Name Distance
Woodfield Nursery School
Sefton Street, Nelson, BB9 5BE
0.08 miles
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Halifax Road, Brierfield, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 5BL
0.28 miles
Reedley Primary School
Reedley Road, Reedley, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2NE
0.33 miles
Casterton Primary Academy
Casterton Primary Academy, Thames Avenue, Burnley, BB10 2PZ
0.66 miles
St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Thames Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2PZ
0.75 miles
Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School
Hibson Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PY
0.78 miles
St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
Lomeshaye Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0DQ
0.89 miles
Marsden Community Primary School
Percy Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0BE
0.97 miles
St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School
Briercliffe Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2NH
1.06 miles
Whitefield Infant School and Nursery
Every Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7HF
1.1 miles
McMillan Nursery School
Railway Street, Nelson, BB9 9AG
1.12 miles
Barden Primary School
Burnley Campus, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1JD
1.13 miles
Reedley Hallows Nursery School
Burnley Campus, Burnley, BB10 1JD
1.13 miles
Holly Grove School
Burnley Campus, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1JD
1.13 miles
Lomeshaye Junior School
Norfolk Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7SY
1.13 miles
Al-Ikhlaas Primary School
35 Norfolk Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7SY
1.26 miles
Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School
Leeds Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 9TQ
1.38 miles
Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary School
Fence, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 9ED
1.39 miles
Briercliffe Primary School
Delamere Road, Briercliffe, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2JU
1.39 miles
Walverden Primary School
Bracewell Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0TL
1.43 miles
Name Distance
Marsden Heights Community College
Edge End Lane, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PR
0.5 miles
Edenfield Girls' High School
Brunswick Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PQ
1.18 miles
Silver Birch School
Briercliffe Road, Harle Syke, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2HA
1.25 miles
Ridgewood Community High School
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
1.38 miles
Sir John Thursby Community College
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
1.42 miles
Compass Community School Lancashire
Bend Hill Farm, Granville Street, Briercliffe, Burnley, BB10 2RA
1.56 miles
East Lancashire Learning Group
Scotland Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7YT
1.57 miles
Grow Independent School
Lower Clough Business Centre, Pendle Street, Barrowford, Lancashire, BB9 8PH
1.76 miles
Burnley College
Princess Way, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0AN
1.96 miles
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy
Ormerod Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3AA
1.97 miles
Olive High Boys
Ormerod Road (Entrance Via Shorey Bank), Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 2RU
1.99 miles
Olive High
Shorey Bank, Burnley, BB11 2RY
2.04 miles
Pendle Vale College
Oxford Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8LF
2.06 miles
Pendle Community High School & College
Oxford Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8LF
2.13 miles
Lincoln House School
25-27 Clifton Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0QZ
2.23 miles
Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School
Gibfield Road, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JT
2.41 miles
Colne Primet Academy
Dent Street, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JF
2.57 miles
Holdsworth School
Park Hill, Padiham Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 6TG
2.75 miles
Unity College
Townley Holmes, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3DF
2.77 miles
The Nook School
Knotts Lane, Colne, BB8 8HH
3.02 miles

All schools in Nelson · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Pendle Primary Academy is part of Pendle Education Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

What is Pendle Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pendle Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Pendle Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Pendle Primary Academy was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Pendle Primary Academy have?

Pendle Primary Academy has 415 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pendle Primary Academy cover?

Pendle Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Pendle Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Pendle Primary Academy?

Pendle Primary Academy is at Walter Street, Brierfield, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 5AW.

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