St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy

St Matthew’s Church of England Primary Academy is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, behave well and enjoy learning. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are strengths, with pupils showing respect for one another and taking part in a wide range of trips, clubs and responsibilities. The school’s reading provision is particularly effective, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and generally well supported. Safeguarding is effective. The main concerns are with the quality of education and early years provision. The curriculum has been renewed and is ambitious, but delivery is inconsistent: activities are not always closely matched to the intended learning, and teachers do not consistently check understanding precisely enough to address misconceptions. As a result, some pupils, including those with SEND, move on with gaps in their knowledge. Many pupils have also been affected by the previous weaker curriculum and have not yet had enough time to benefit from the new content. In the early years, the curriculum is not always adapted well enough to the communication and language needs of the youngest children, and staff do not consistently model language and talk effectively. This means some children do not develop the vocabulary and general knowledge they need to be ready for Year 1. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first as an academy within Cidari Education Limited; the trust and local governing body are seen to provide helpful support and challenge, and staff generally feel valued and well supported.

Strengths

• Welcoming, kind and inclusive ethos where pupils accept and celebrate differences
• Pupils feel safe and know staff will listen to their worries
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school and have positive attitudes to learning
• High expectations of behaviour are applied consistently and fairly, so learning is not interrupted
• Strong personal development provision, including spiritual development and close links with the local church and faith communities
• Well-considered reading curriculum with effective early phonics and support for pupils who struggle to read
• Swift identification of pupils with SEND and effective use of resources and adaptations to support learning
• Wide range of trips, clubs and pupil responsibilities that develop pupils’ talents and confidence
• Language ambassadors help new pupils settle quickly
• Trust and governors provide helpful support and challenge and have helped bring about improvement
• Personalised approach to attendance is helping more pupils arrive at school each day
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is variable across phases and subjects, and activities are not always well matched to the intended learning
• Pupils have gaps in learning from the previous weaker curriculum and many do not yet have the knowledge needed for the next stage
• Teachers’ checks on pupils’ understanding are not specific enough, so misconceptions are not identified and addressed swiftly
• In some lessons, learning is not linked securely enough to what pupils already know, and pupils are moved on while gaps remain
• Early years provision does not always adapt the curriculum sufficiently to children’s communication and language needs
• Staff in early years do not consistently model language and talk effectively, so some children do not develop the vocabulary they need
• Some children in early years are not well prepared for Year 1 because they lack the vocabulary and general knowledge required
• The quality of education and early years provision require improvement

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 Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.4% 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, 0.9% of pupils at St Matthew's Church of England 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 St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% 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, 13.0% of pupils at St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.3% 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 Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy received £7,288 and spent £6,917 for each of its 434 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £354,000 (£817 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is part of Cidari Education Limited, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• St Silas's CofE Primary School Blackburn
• St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy Blackburn
• St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School Blackburn
• Warton St Paul's Church of England Primary Academy Preston
• Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• Knuzden St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy Blackburn
• Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy Wigan
• St George's School A Church of England Academy Blackpool
• Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Blackpool

What is St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy have?

St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy has 415 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy cover?

St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy?

St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is at New Hall Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 5XB.