Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #66 in Lancashire public Top 3% UK

Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School

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

personMr Jim Blakely

location_onPreston, PR3 1PB

language Visit Website phone 1995603454

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

253

school

Expected Standard

90%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.2x

summarize

Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Preston, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.2×) — apply through your local authority on time. Ranks in the top 3% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Preston, Lancashire, admitting pupils aged 2-11. The school has approximately 261 pupils on roll, of whom 9% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 90% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 16% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #66 of 444 primaries in Lancashire and #3,407 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. The school's current overall rating is Good. 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 1.2× 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

90%

LA 59%

Reading100% LA 73%

Writing94% LA 69%

Maths97% LA 72%

Read SS

110

Maths SS

110

GPS SS

113

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

86%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading93% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing93% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths100% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

112

GPS SS

114

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

85%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading97% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths100% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

110

GPS SS

112

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.8

Read

LA -0.2

0.7 to 4.9

1.1

Write

LA 0.1

-1.0 to 3.2

4.2

Maths

LA -0.3

2.2 to 6.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

78%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading83% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing83% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths96% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.5

Read

LA -0.2

1.0 to 6.1

1.6

Write

LA 0.1

-0.7 to 4.0

1.0

Maths

LA -0.2

-1.2 to 3.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

77%

LA 65%

Reading87% LA 76%

Writing81% LA 78%

Maths87% LA 75%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.5

Read

LA 0.1

-0.6 to 3.6

0.3

Write

LA 0.1

-1.8 to 2.4

1.9

Maths

LA 0.0

0 to 3.8

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

26 November 2024

Inspection Report

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17 October 2023

Inspection Report

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17 July 2018

Inspection Report

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21 May 2014

Inspection Report

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09 January 2012

Inspection Report

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07 May 2009

Inspection Report

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05 July 2006

Inspection Report

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28 February 2000

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2024-11-26

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Outstanding

Behaviour

Outstanding

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Outstanding

2018-07-17

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2014-05-21

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2009-05-07

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

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 261 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	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	261	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	255	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	259	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	255	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	243	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	259	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	253	1	0.4%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	243	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	213	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	212	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	213	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	210	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	210	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	209	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	204	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	204	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	199	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	186	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	178	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	176	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	182	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	183	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	183	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	186	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	188	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	186	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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psychology_alt

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 9 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 7 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 5 pupils

Visual Impairment 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

100.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

100.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

8.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree86%

agree12%

disagree2%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree88%

agree12%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree51%

agree3%

disagree3%

strongly disagree3%

not applicable40%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes17%

no83%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree73%

disagree18%

dont know9%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree85%

agree9%

strongly disagree2%

don't know5%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree91%

agree6%

disagree3%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree88%

agree9%

disagree3%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree86%

agree14%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree85%

agree12%

don't know3%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree85%

agree12%

disagree2%

don't know2%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes100%

Top Primary Schools in Lancashire

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

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Stanah Primary School

Good

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Helmshore Primary School

Good

location_on Rossendale, BB4 4JW

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Lomeshaye Junior School

Good

location_on Nelson, BB9 7SY

emoji_events #3 in LA

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Preston

Good

location_on Preston, PR1 6HQ

emoji_events #4 in LA

Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Burnley, BB12 0BN

emoji_events #5 in LA

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

Good

location_on Rossendale, BB4 8SU

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Lancashire arrow_forward

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)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

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