Ofsted: Good

Acorns Primary School

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

personMrs Paula Barlow

location_onPreston, PR1 6AU

language Visit Website phone 1772792681

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Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

school

Expected Standard

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Age Range

2-11

summarize

Acorns Primary School is a Community special school school in Preston, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

Acorns Primary School is a community special school in Preston, Lancashire, admitting pupils aged 2-11. The school has approximately 92 pupils on roll, of whom 41% are eligible for free school meals.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. 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 pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 8.2:1. 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

LA 59%

Reading0% LA 73%

Writing0% LA 69%

Maths0% LA 72%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 58%England 61%

Reading0% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing0% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths0% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 58%England 60%

Reading0% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing0% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths0% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.2

Write

LA 0.1

Maths

LA -0.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 64%England 65%

Reading0% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing0% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths0% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.5

Read

LA -0.2

-4.0 to 3.0

-4.5

Write

LA 0.1

-7.7 to -1.2

-4.0

Maths

LA -0.2

-7.1 to -1.0

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 65%

Reading0% LA 76%

Writing0% LA 78%

Maths0% LA 75%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-5

Read

LA 0.1

-8.9 to -1.1

-4.9

Write

LA 0.1

-8.6 to -1.2

-4.9

Maths

LA 0.0

-8.5 to -1.3

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 January 2025

Inspection Report

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01 November 2023

Inspection Report

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08 November 2017

Inspection Report

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20 November 2012

Inspection Report

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20 January 2010

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-01-07

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

2017-11-08

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2012-11-20

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2010-01-20

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

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: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

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: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 92 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 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	92	0	0.0%	7.3%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	90	0	0.0%	7.8%
2023/24 (Summer term)	88	0	0.0%	7.4%
2023/24 (Spring term)	89	0	0.0%	7.1%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	89	0	0.0%	8.2%
2022/23 (Summer term)	88	2	2.3%	6.6%
2022/23 (Spring term)	88	0	0.0%	6.4%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	88	0	0.0%	5.9%
2021/22 (Summer term)	86	0	0.0%	4.7%
2021/22 (Spring term)	87	0	0.0%	4.9%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	86	0	0.0%	4.4%
2020/21 (Summer term)	73	0	0.0%	3.6%
2020/21 (Spring term)	73	0	0.0%	1.0%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	72	0	0.0%	3.9%
2019/20 (Summer term)	74	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	74	0	0.0%	3.2%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	73	0	0.0%	4.2%
2018/19 (Summer term)	74	0	0.0%	3.1%
2018/19 (Spring term)	74	0	0.0%	3.8%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	74	0	0.0%	3.8%
2017/18 (Summer term)	74	0	0.0%	3.4%
2017/18 (Spring term)	74	0	0.0%	3.0%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	74	0	0.0%	3.7%
2016/17 (Summer term)	70	0	0.0%	3.0%
2016/17 (Spring term)	69	0	0.0%	3.3%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	68	0	0.0%	3.1%

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.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 38 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 22 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 11 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 10 pupils

Physical Disability 6 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 1 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils

Acorns Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

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

Staffing

Teacher Turnover