Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #31 in Blackburn with Darwen public Top 56% UK

St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn

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

person Mrs Claire Speakman (Headteacher)

location_onBlackburn, BB1 5BN

language Visit Website phone 0125457582

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

184

school

Expected Standard

62%

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Demand Ratio

0.8x

summarize

St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Blackburn, serving ages 3-11. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Ranks in the top 56% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn is a voluntary aided school in Blackburn, Blackburn with Darwen, admitting pupils aged 3-11. The school has approximately 154 pupils on roll, of whom 42% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 62% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 3% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #31 of 51 primaries in Blackburn with Darwen and #7,625 of 14,159 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.5:1. 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

62%

LA 61%

Reading72% LA 73%

Writing62% LA 70%

Maths66% LA 74%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading52% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing62% LA 67% · Eng 72%

Maths62% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading68% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing55% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths74% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.1

Read

LA -0.5

-0.3 to 4.6

-1.6

Write

LA 0.0

-4.0 to 0.7

1.9

Maths

LA -0.1

-0.3 to 4.2

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading73% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing65% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths85% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.7

Read

LA 0.4

-3.3 to 1.9

-1.8

Write

LA 0.4

-4.2 to 0.6

-0.2

Maths

LA 0.8

-2.4 to 2.1

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

68%

LA 62%

Reading68% LA 73%

Writing79% LA 75%

Maths82% LA 76%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.1

Read

LA 0.1

-2.2 to 2.4

1.8

Write

LA 0.4

-0.4 to 4

2.9

Maths

LA 0.6

0.8 to 5

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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	#7,625 / 14,159	#31	#7,891	#1
2024	#10,574 / 14,233	#38	#11,579	#1
2023	#7,602 / 13,940	#26	#11,216	#4,998
2019	#8,765 / 11,810	#38	#9,526	#8,399
2018	#2,546 / 10,972	#14	#5,266	#2,642

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

24 September 2024

Inspection Report

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08 November 2022

Inspection Report

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14 September 2021

Inspection Report

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07 July 2016

Inspection Report

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12 September 2014

Inspection Report

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20 May 2014

Inspection Report

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18 December 2012

Inspection Report

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11 October 2012

Inspection Report

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26 May 2010

Inspection Report

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06 March 2007

Inspection Report

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08 October 2001

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2024-09-24

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Report Card

info

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.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met Latest Ungraded: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

2022-11-08

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2016-07-07

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met Latest Ungraded: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

2014-05-20

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

0.0%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 169 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	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	169	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	166	0	0.0%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	188	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	180	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	168	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	196	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	184	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	177	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	201	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	194	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	184	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	212	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	200	1	0.5%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	201	2	1.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	229	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	229	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	225	4	1.8%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	240	2	0.8%	0.4%	1
2018/19 (Spring term)	231	3	1.3%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	216	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	229	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	221	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	206	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	226	4	1.8%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	224	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	207	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

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 20 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 9 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 3 pupils