Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up High Demand emoji_events #7 in Blackburn with Darwen public Top 1% UK

The Olive School, Blackburn

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

personMrs Smeena Riaz

corporate_fareSTAR ACADEMIES

location_onBlackburn, BB2 6QQ

language Visit Website phone 125454070

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

635

school

Expected Standard

98%

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Demand Ratio

2.1x

summarize

The Olive School, Blackburn is a Free schools primary school in Blackburn, serving ages 4-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Highly competitive: 2.1× more applications than places — plan well ahead. Ranks in the top 1% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

The Olive School, Blackburn is a free schools in Blackburn, Blackburn with Darwen, admitting pupils aged 4-11. It is part of STAR ACADEMIES. The school has approximately 637 pupils on roll, of whom 4% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 98% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 24% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #7 of 51 primaries in Blackburn with Darwen and #1,949 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. 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 2.1× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.4:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

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

98%

LA 61%

Reading98% LA 73%

Writing99% LA 70%

Maths99% LA 74%

Read SS

111

Maths SS

113

GPS SS

111

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

95%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading95% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing95% LA 67% · Eng 72%

Maths96% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

110

Maths SS

112

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

92%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading94% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing98% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths97% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

110

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.8

Read

LA -0.5

0.5 to 3.2

2.3

Write

LA 0.0

1.1 to 3.6

3.7

Maths

LA -0.1

2.5 to 4.9

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

89%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading95% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing100% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths92% LA 79% · Eng 79%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

111

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.7

Read

LA 0.4

0.4 to 3.0

2.8

Write

LA 0.4

1.6 to 4.0

-0.4

Maths

LA 0.8

-1.5 to 0.7

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

77%

LA 62%

Reading80% LA 73%

Writing98% LA 75%

Maths88% LA 76%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.3

Read

LA 0.1

-1.8 to 1.2

2.8

Write

LA 0.4

1.3 to 4.3

0.1

Maths

LA 0.6

-1.3 to 1.5

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

04 March 2025

Inspection Report

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02 June 2015

Inspection Report

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08 July 2014

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2025-03-04

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

2015-06-02

S5 Inspection EIF

Outstanding

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: 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 637 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)	637	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	638	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	638	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	638	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	639	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	638	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	635	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	634	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	638	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	638	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	637	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	638	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	637	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	633	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	638	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	638	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	638	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	637	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	637	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	634	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	607	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	605	1	0.2%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	608	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	512	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	513	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	510	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 31 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 7 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 7 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 5 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Hearing Impairment 4 pupils

Physical Disability 4 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 1 pupils