St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School is a welcoming, community-focused school within the Cidari Multi Academy Trust. Pupils are happy, behave well and benefit from strong personal development, including trips, clubs, charitable activities and lessons on relationships and online safety. Safeguarding is effective, phonics is well taught, pupils with SEND are identified effectively, and strategies to reduce persistent absence are working. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision require improvement. Published 2023 Year 6 attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was significantly below the national average, reflecting both pandemic disruption and weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Some pupils have unaddressed gaps in knowledge, and some key stage 2 pupils lack the vocabulary needed to comprehend what they read. In a small number of subjects, teachers lack the subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum effectively, and in some subjects they do not check prior knowledge securely before introducing new content. Early years curriculum thinking is not fully finalised in some areas, so children do not always build on what they already know and are less well prepared for Year 1. Staffing turbulence since the previous inspection has limited the impact of improvement work, although governors and trustees understand the weaknesses and staff feel well supported with workload and well-being. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and feel respected in a welcoming, community-focused school.
• Pupils behave well, and learning is rarely interrupted.
• Personal development is strong, with trips, clubs, charitable activities and lessons on relationships and online safety.
• Phonics is prioritised and well taught, including strong support for pupils needing extra help and for new arrivals learning English.
• SEND is identified effectively, and well-chosen resources help pupils with SEND access the same curriculum.
• Strategies to reduce persistent absence are working.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff value the support provided for their workload and well-being.
• Governors and trustees understand the school’s weaknesses and are taking steps to improve capacity.

Areas for Improvement

• Published 2023 Year 6 attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was significantly below the national average.
• Some pupils have gaps in their learning that have not been identified or addressed, so they do not achieve as well as they should across a range of subjects.
• Some key stage 2 pupils lack the vocabulary knowledge needed to comprehend texts, limiting their reading comprehension and readiness for the next stage.
• In a small number of subjects, teachers lack the subject knowledge needed to deliver the intended curriculum effectively.
• Teachers in some subjects do not check that pupils’ prior knowledge is secure before introducing new content.
• The early years curriculum does not set out the key knowledge children should learn in some areas, so activities do not always build on what children know.
• Children in the early years are not consistently well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum.
• Staffing turbulence since the previous inspection has limited the impact of improvement work.
• Leaders have not yet secured consistent curriculum quality across subjects.

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 Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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, 3.4% of pupils at St Luke and St Philips Church of England 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 St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.3% 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, 19.3% of pupils at St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.0% 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 2024–25 St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School received £8,716 and spent £8,132 for each of its 204 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £113,000 (£552 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Cidari Education Limited, income was £8,446 and spending £8,235 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). 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Blackburn · Blackburn with Darwen local authority: places and applications

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School is part of Cidari Education Limited, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy Blackburn
• St Silas's CofE Primary School Blackburn
• Knuzden St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy Blackburn
• Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy Preston
• Newchurch-In-Pendle St Mary's Church of England Primary School Burnley
• Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy Nelson
• Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy Wigan
• Warton St Paul's Church of England Primary Academy Preston

What is St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School have?

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School cover?

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School?

St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School is at Hancock Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 2LZ.