Ofsted: Expected standard trending_up Places Available emoji_events #34 in Blackburn with Darwen public Top 76% UK

St Matthew's Church of England Primary School

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

person Mr Julian Rogers (Headteacher)

location_onBlackburn, BB1 1DF

language Visit Website phone 01254291250

verified

Ofsted

Expected standard

Inspected 2026

groups

Students

273

school

Expected Standard

53%

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Demand Ratio

0.9x

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St Matthew's Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Blackburn, serving ages 4-11. Assessed at Expected standard by Ofsted on its latest Report Card inspection. Ranks in the top 76% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St Matthew's Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Blackburn, Blackburn with Darwen, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 258 pupils on roll, of whom 40% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 53% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 3% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #34 of 51 primaries in Blackburn with Darwen and #8,883 of 14,159 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2026. The school's current overall rating is Expected standard. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Expected standard, behaviour and attitudes Expected standard, personal development Expected standard, and leadership and management Needs attention.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 17.4:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.4 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

53%

LA 61%

Reading61% LA 73%

Writing53% LA 70%

Maths61% LA 74%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading67% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing59% LA 67% · Eng 72%

Maths64% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

41%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading54% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing51% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths69% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.7

Read

LA -0.5

-4.7 to -0.6

-3.1

Write

LA 0.0

-5.1 to -1.2

-1.6

Maths

LA -0.1

-3.5 to 0.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

57%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading65% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing70% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths76% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.5

Read

LA 0.4

-1.6 to 2.5

-0.7

Write

LA 0.4

-2.6 to 1.2

0.5

Maths

LA 0.8

-1.3 to 2.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

74%

LA 62%

Reading80% LA 73%

Writing77% LA 75%

Maths77% LA 76%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.3

Read

LA 0.1

-0.7 to 3.3

0.6

Write

LA 0.4

-1.3 to 2.5

1.2

Maths

LA 0.6

-0.6 to 3

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Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Primary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	Attainment	Progress
2025	#8,883 / 14,159	#34	#10,668	#1
2024	#8,341 / 14,233	#31	#9,509	#1
2023	#12,132 / 13,940	#43	#11,871	#12,052
2019	#6,009 / 11,810	#27	#8,857	#6,027
2018	#1,917 / 10,972	#11	#3,507	#3,698

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

06 January 2026

Inspection Report

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07 July 2021

Inspection Report

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07 July 2016

Inspection Report

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01 May 2014

Inspection Report

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14 January 2014

Inspection Report

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24 November 2010

Inspection Report

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18 September 2007

Inspection Report

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16 January 2007

Inspection Report

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27 June 2006

Inspection Report

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08 January 2001

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2026-01-06

S5 Inspection REIF Report Card

Report Card

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Why no single overall grade?

From autumn 2024 / 2025, Ofsted replaced single-word headline grades (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate) with individual area judgements on a Report Card.

Curriculum & Teaching

Expected standard

Achievement

Needs attention

Attendance & Behaviour

Expected standard

Personal Development

Expected standard

Inclusion

Needs attention

Leadership & Governance

Needs attention

Early Years

Needs attention

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2016-07-07

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met Latest Ungraded: School remains Good

2014-01-14

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

0.4%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.4%(1 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 271 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.4%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	271	1	0.4%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	274	1	0.4%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	281	3	1.1%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	276	1	0.4%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	274	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	272	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	273	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	272	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	277	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	276	1	0.4%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	273	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	274	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	274	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	272	1	0.4%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	274	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	274	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	266	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	275	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	271	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	269	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	271	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	271	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	276	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	273	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	271	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	269	0	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 49 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 14 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 5 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Physical Disability 3 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils