St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Burnley · BB10 4BH

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 197 pupils, 46.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.8% on SEN support Behaviour 6.9% absence rate Staff 42.9% turnover Financials £6,443 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

General Information

Address: Holcombe Drive, Burnley, BB10 4BH – View on map
Phone: 01282427546
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Laura Bushell
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 21 families put it first for 22 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 8 · 2025 8 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

197 pupils out of 210 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 92
% eligible for free school meals: 46.7%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Burnley average)
English as an additional language: 22% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 42.9% a year (Burnley 12.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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: 6.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 17.7%
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: 18.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 4 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 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

An Ofsted rating for this school hasn't been added yet.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 43% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points below the Burnley average (56%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 43% against an expected 57%)
3-year average (expected standard): 43%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 57% · Writing 57% · Maths 57% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
Average test scores: reading 102, maths 100
Based on: 30 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→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points below the Burnley average (56%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 25th of 29 junior and primary schools in the area

#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%

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,443 (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.

25th of 28 primary schools in Burnley for spending per pupil

#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

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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