Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up High Demand emoji_events #72 in Lancashire public Top 4% UK

Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Jo Duckworth

location_onNelson, BB9 6QT

language Visit Website phone 1282614462

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2023

groups

Students

118

school

Expected Standard

88%

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Demand Ratio

1.6x

summarize

Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Nelson, serving ages 4-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Highly competitive: 1.6× more applications than places — plan well ahead. Ranks in the top 4% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Nelson, Lancashire, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 121 pupils on roll, of whom 10% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 88% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 13% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #72 of 444 primaries in Lancashire and #3,585 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2023. The school's current overall rating is Outstanding. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Outstanding, behaviour and attitudes Outstanding, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Outstanding.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.6× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

88%

LA 59%

Reading100% LA 73%

Writing100% LA 69%

Maths88% LA 72%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

79%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading84% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing89% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths79% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading81% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing94% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths81% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.5

Read

LA -0.2

-3.6 to 2.6

3.1

Write

LA 0.1

0.1 to 6.0

0.6

Maths

LA -0.3

-2.3 to 3.5

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

78%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading78% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing100% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths100% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

109

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.8

Read

LA -0.2

-1.0 to 4.7

3.0

Write

LA 0.1

0.4 to 5.6

3.5

Maths

LA -0.2

1.0 to 6.0

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

94%

LA 65%

Reading100% LA 76%

Writing100% LA 78%

Maths94% LA 75%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

111

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA 0.1

-0.9 to 4.9

2.4

Write

LA 0.1

-0.4 to 5.2

2.4

Maths

LA 0.0

-0.3 to 5.1

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

26 September 2023

Inspection Report

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07 January 2011

Inspection Report

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07 February 2008

Inspection Report

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08 November 2004

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2023-09-26

S5 Inspection EIF

Outstanding

Education

Outstanding

Behaviour

Outstanding

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Outstanding

2008-02-07

Section 5 RTI Historic EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 121 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	121	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	119	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	120	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	119	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	120	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	118	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	118	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	119	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	120	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	120	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	121	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	121	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	121	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	121	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	123	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	123	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	122	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	122	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	122	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	122	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	121	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	121	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	121	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	122	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	122	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	123	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 5 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 1 pupils

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Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Lancashire

Stanah Primary School

Helmshore Primary School

Lomeshaye Junior School

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Preston

Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School

St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall