Northbrook Primary Academy

Northbrook Primary Academy was inspected in July 2026 and is meeting expected standards, with safeguarding standards met. The school has undergone significant change since its previous inspection: a new executive headteacher is in post, a nursery for three-year-olds has opened, and a specially resourced provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs has been established. It is part of Endeavour Learning Trust. Leaders have taken swift and decisive action to improve the curriculum and teaching, and outcomes are improving after a period below the national average. More recent Year 6 pupils are reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Attendance is regular and in line with or above national levels, behaviour is positive, suspension rates have fallen considerably, and pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils make suitable progress from their starting points. Pupils feel safe, cared for and well prepared for their next steps, and personal development and enrichment are strong. The main areas for development concern precision in teaching and curriculum implementation. Some pupils do not build detailed knowledge across subjects, and some staff do not consistently choose activities that help pupils build knowledge over time. Teachers do not always identify gaps in handwriting, spelling, grammar and number formation precisely, so errors persist. The communication curriculum is not yet precise enough, especially for children in the early years and pupils in the specially resourced provision, where opportunities to teach new words and correct spoken language are sometimes missed.

Strengths

• Leaders have taken swift action to improve the curriculum and teaching.
• Pupils' achievement is improving, with more recent Year 6 pupils reaching expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Attendance is in line with or above national levels for all groups, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Pupils show positive attitudes in lessons and behave well around school.
• Suspension rates have fallen considerably and bullying or discriminatory behaviour is rare.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with clear subject content and staff subject knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, make suitable progress from their starting points.
• Children in the early years get off to a positive start, including in the newly opened nursery.
• Reading is prioritised from the start, and children who fall behind receive timely support.
• Leaders identify barriers to learning and provide tailored support for pupils' learning and wellbeing.
• Leaders have an accurate shared view of strengths and areas for development and have worked with the trust to drive improvement.
• Staff receive focused, subject-specific training and feel valued and supported.
• Pupils develop respect and tolerance, understand British values and take on leadership roles.
• Disadvantaged pupils can take part in enrichment activities alongside their peers.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not develop detailed knowledge across subjects.
• Some staff do not consistently choose activities that help pupils build detailed knowledge over time.
• Some pupils make errors in handwriting, spelling and grammar, and teachers do not identify these gaps precisely enough.
• Teachers do not always identify gaps in number formation precisely, so some errors persist.
• The communication curriculum is not precise enough to support pupils in the specially resourced provision and children in the early years.
• Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities to teach new words and correct children's spoken language errors.
• Some pupils, particularly in the specially resourced provision, do not receive the same detailed communication support as their peers.

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 Northbrook Primary Academy attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.0% 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 Northbrook Primary Academy 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 Northbrook Primary Academy had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 45.5% 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, 21.1% of pupils at Northbrook Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.5% 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 Northbrook Primary Academy received £8,599 and spent £9,285 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £520,000 (-£2,808 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Endeavour Learning Trust, income was £7,792 and spending £7,806 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 Leyland · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Northbrook Primary Academy is part of Endeavour Learning Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Wellfield Academy Leyland
• Woodlea Junior School Leyland
• Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School Preston
• Tarleton Academy Preston
• Strike Lane Primary School Preston
• Burscough Priory Academy Ormskirk
• Churchtown Primary School Southport
• Ormskirk School Ormskirk
• Linaker Primary School Southport
• Hawes Side Academy Blackpool

What is Northbrook Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Northbrook Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Northbrook Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Northbrook Primary Academy have?

Northbrook Primary Academy has 185 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northbrook Primary Academy cover?

Northbrook Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Northbrook Primary Academy?

Northbrook Primary Academy is at Bannister Drive, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 2GB.