Blacko Primary School

Blacko Primary School is a small, 103-pupil school within the Apex Collaborative multi-academy trust, and inspectors found a strong, positive culture underpinned by high expectations and warm relationships. Pupils are proud of their school, behave exceptionally well, attend far more regularly than national averages, and feel safe and well cared for. Safeguarding standards are met. Early years provision is a particular strength, with children getting off to a strong start and leaving Reception well prepared for key stage 1. Inclusion is also a notable strength: pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other vulnerable pupils are identified quickly and supported effectively. Leaders, trustees and governors are ambitious and have a clear grasp of priorities, and staff value the trust’s investment in coaching and wellbeing. Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is consistently above national averages, and personal development is well planned, with a wide range of extracurricular opportunities and meaningful pupil leadership roles. Inspectors judged achievement, curriculum and teaching, and personal development to be at the expected standard rather than as strong as the school’s leadership, behaviour, early years and inclusion work. There are a few areas to refine. A small number of pupils need to develop fluency in handwriting, and assessment systems do not yet consistently ensure that pupils build and remember detailed knowledge across the whole curriculum over time. Some teachers’ strategies for checking long-term recall are less effective, and some pupils do not show deep, detailed knowledge across all curriculum areas. Overall, the school prepares pupils well academically and socially for the next stage.

Strengths

• High expectations and a positive culture rooted in ambition, respect and collaboration
• Pupils behave impeccably and have highly positive attitudes to learning and each other
• Attendance is above national averages and persistent absence is well below national levels
• Pupils with SEND attend regularly and are well supported to overcome barriers
• Early years curriculum is aspirational, well delivered and prepares children strongly for key stage 1
• Inclusion is central, with swift identification and effective support for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils
• Leaders, trustees and governors are ambitious, focused on the right priorities and hold the school to account well
• Staff value strong professional development, coaching and attention to workload and wellbeing
• Pupils attain consistently above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils achieve well from their starting points
• Personal development is well planned, with rich extracurricular opportunities and meaningful leadership roles
• Pupils feel safe, cared for and a strong sense of belonging
• Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture of safeguarding

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils have gaps in early handwriting and do not yet write fluently
• Assessment systems need further development to check that pupils remember detailed curriculum knowledge over time
• Some teachers’ strategies for checking long-term recall are less effective
• Some pupils do not develop detailed, deep knowledge across all areas of the curriculum over time

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 Blacko Primary School attended 97.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Blacko Primary School 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 Blacko Primary School had 20.6 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, 9.7% of pupils at Blacko Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 2024–25 Blacko Primary School received £7,736 and spent £8,262 for each of its 101 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £188,000 (£1,863 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Apex Collaborative Trust, income was £5,767 and spending £3,806 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 Nelson · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Blacko Primary School is part of Apex Collaborative Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Colne Lord Street School Colne
• Colne Park High School Colne
• Laneshaw Bridge Primary Colne
• South Craven School Keighley

What is Blacko Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blacko Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Blacko Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Blacko Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Blacko Primary School have?

Blacko Primary School has 103 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blacko Primary School cover?

Blacko Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Blacko Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Blacko Primary School?

Blacko Primary School is at Blacko Primary School, Gisburn Road, Blacko, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 6LS.