St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Burnley · BB12 0JD

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 191 pupils, 21.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 23% on SEN support Behaviour 3.8% absence rate Staff 10% turnover Financials £6,928 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

General Information

Address: Wellfield Drive, Burnley, BB12 0JD – View on map
Phone: 01282436880
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sarah Price
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 29 families put it first for 30 places – 10 for every 10 places. 90% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 10 · 2025 8 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

191 pupils out of 210 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 41
% eligible for free school meals: 21.5%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Burnley average)
English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10% a year (Burnley 12.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 23.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 69% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 14% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Burnley average (56%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 52% against an expected 61%)
3-year average (expected standard): 52%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 79% · Writing 72% · Maths 86% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 72%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 106
Based on: 29 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolBurnley averageEngland↗ Improving Up 37 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Burnley average (56%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 5th of 29 junior and primary schools in the area

#4Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School70%
=5Briercliffe Primary School69%
=5St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy69%
=7Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy67%
=7Whittlefield Primary School67%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, Padiham80%
#2Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School79%
#3Casterton Primary Academy72%
#4Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School70%
=5Briercliffe Primary School69%
=5St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy69%
=7Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy67%
=7Whittlefield Primary School67%
=9Barden Primary School60%
=9Heasandford Primary School60%
=9Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School60%
#12St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy59%
#13St John's CofE Primary School, Cliviger57%
#14Hapton Church of England/Methodist Primary School56%
=15Cherry Fold Community Primary School55%
=15Rosewood Primary School55%
=17Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary School53%
=17St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy53%
#19St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School50%
#20Padiham Green Church of England Primary School48%
=21Padiham Primary School47%
=21Worsthorne Primary School47%
#23Burnley Ightenhill Primary School46%
#24Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School45%
=25Burnley Springfield Community Primary School43%
=25St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy43%
#27Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School40%
#28Burnley Lowerhouse Junior School35%
#29Burnley Brunshaw Primary School23%

View full Ofsted inspection report

17th of 21 primary schools in Burnley for Ofsted rating

#15St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, PadihamGood
#16St John's CofE Primary School, ClivigerGood
#17St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#18Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church SchoolGood
#19Whittlefield Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Barden Primary SchoolGood
#2Burnley Brunshaw Primary SchoolGood
#3Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#4Burnley Ightenhill Primary SchoolGood
#5Burnley Springfield Community Primary SchoolGood
#6Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#7Casterton Primary AcademyGood
#8Cherry Fold Community Primary SchoolGood
#9Hapton Church of England/Methodist Primary SchoolGood
#10Heasandford Primary SchoolGood
#11Padiham Primary SchoolGood
#12Rosewood Primary SchoolGood
#13St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyGood
#14St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#15St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, PadihamGood
#16St John's CofE Primary School, ClivigerGood
#17St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#18Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church SchoolGood
#19Whittlefield Primary SchoolGood
#20Worsthorne Primary SchoolGood
#21Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,928 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

15th of 28 primary schools in Burnley for spending per pupil

#13Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School£7,162
#14Casterton Primary Academy£7,045
#15St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,928
#16St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy£6,903
#17Burnley Brunshaw Primary School£6,862

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Cherry Fold Community Primary School£8,539
#2Barden Primary School£8,361
#3Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School£8,051
#4Burnley Springfield Community Primary School£8,033
#5Padiham Green Church of England Primary School£7,970
#6Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School£7,854
#7Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,741
#8Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary School£7,732
#9Whittlefield Primary School£7,570
#10Rosewood Primary School£7,428
#11Padiham Primary School£7,337
#12Hapton Church of England/Methodist Primary School£7,317
#13Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School£7,162
#14Casterton Primary Academy£7,045
#15St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,928
#16St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy£6,903
#17Burnley Brunshaw Primary School£6,862
#18St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,792
#19Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School£6,689
#20St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School£6,677
#21St John's CofE Primary School, Cliviger£6,674
#22Burnley Ightenhill Primary School£6,656
#23Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,578
#24Heasandford Primary School£6,528
#25St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£6,443
#26St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, Padiham£6,377
#27Worsthorne Primary School£6,160
#28Briercliffe Primary School£5,984

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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