St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School is a smaller-than-average Roman Catholic primary school in the Romero Catholic Academy Trust. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found effective early years provision, an inclusive culture and a well-considered personal development programme, but achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance were identified as needing attention. Leaders have secured rapid improvements and have an accurate understanding of priorities, although some actions are at an early stage and previous leadership changes slowed the pace of improvement. The school's strengths include a caring Catholic ethos, positive relationships, strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, a secure start in the early years, calm behaviour and a wide range of personal development and community opportunities. Pupils are typically polite, respectful and feel safe and valued. However, pupils' attainment by the end of Year 6 is typically below national averages, and some pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in knowledge that limit progress. Teaching varies across the school, assessment information is not used consistently to build on prior learning or address misconceptions, and persistent absence remains above average, particularly for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Record-keeping does not always clearly evidence the actions taken to support pupils, and improvements are not yet consistently evident in pupils' outcomes and experiences.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives children a positive and secure start to their education.
• The early years curriculum is carefully designed and implemented consistently well.
• Staff know children well and use assessment to adapt provision to individual needs.
• Leaders have established an inclusive culture where pupils are welcomed and valued.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective, tailored support.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from targeted academic and emotional support.
• The nurture nest helps pupils access learning successfully.
• Personal development provision supports pupils' resilience, wellbeing and understanding of British values.
• Pupils are typically polite, considerate and respectful, contributing to a calm environment.
• Leaders have secured rapid improvements and accurately identified key priorities.
• Staff value the positive and supportive culture and the attention given to workload and wellbeing.
• Pupils benefit from charitable activities, community links and a range of extracurricular opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is not consistently secure across subjects and classes.
• Some pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in knowledge that hamper progress.
• Pupils' attainment in national assessments by the end of Year 6 is typically below the national average.
• Persistent absence remains above average, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils.
• Teaching varies across the school and assessment information is not used consistently well.
• Teachers do not routinely identify and address misconceptions, so some pupils develop gaps in learning.
• Some activities do not help pupils learn the intended curriculum content or match their stage of learning.
• Documentation does not always clearly evidence the actions taken to support pupils.
• Changes in leadership have slowed the pace of improvement, and some actions are at an early stage.
• Some pupils are not fully prepared for the next stage of education.

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 Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.7% 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 St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary 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 Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 24.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% 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, 19.2% of pupils at St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy received £10,218 and spent £8,967 for each of its 128 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £278,000 (£2,171 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Romero Catholic Academy Trust, income was £8,388 and spending £8,280 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 Accrington · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of Romero Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Blackburn
• St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Burnley
• All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Rossendale
• Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Blackburn
• Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Clitheroe
• St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Burnley
• St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Darwen

What is St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 130 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is at Sandy Lane, Office 204 Group House Mead Road Shuttleworth Mead, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 2AN.