St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden

Ribble Valley · BB7 9ED

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 69 pupils, 24.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.8% on SEN support Behaviour 5.0% absence rate Staff 12% turnover Financials £9,461 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden

General Information

Address: Watt Street, Sabden, Clitheroe, BB7 9ED – View on map
Phone: 01282771009
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Claire Halstead
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 5 families put it first for 5 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: 2023 10 · 2024 8 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

69 pupils out of 90 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 17
% eligible for free school meals: 24.6%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Ribble Valley average)
English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12% a year (Ribble Valley 12.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 29% moved to another school, 71% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 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: 5.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.3%
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: 10.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Specific 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 2022 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: 43% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 26 percentage points below the Ribble Valley average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 32% against an expected 53%)
3-year average (expected standard): 32%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 71% · Writing 71% · Maths 57% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 71%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 97
Based on: 7 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 schoolRibble Valley 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 26 percentage points below the Ribble Valley average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: 24th of 27 junior and primary schools in the area

=22Clitheroe Brookside Primary School50%
=22Sabden Primary School50%
#24St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden43%
#25Barnacre Road Primary School41%
#26Ribchester St Wilfrid's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School30%

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

#1Gisburn Primary School94%
#2Langho and Billington St Leonards Church of England Primary School91%
#3Brabins Endowed School90%
#4Longridge Church of England Primary School83%
=5Edisford Primary School81%
=5Whalley Church of England Primary School81%
#7Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School79%
=8Barrow URC Primary School73%
=8Read St John's CofE Primary School73%
=10St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst Green71%
=10St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Langho71%
=10St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Osbaldeston71%
#13Salesbury Church of England Primary School70%
#14Clitheroe Pendle Primary School68%
=15Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary School67%
=15Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School67%
#17Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge66%
=18Chatburn Church of England Primary School65%
=18Mellor St Mary Church of England Primary School65%
#20Waddington and West Bradford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School55%
#21St James' Church of England Primary School, Clitheroe51%
=22Clitheroe Brookside Primary School50%
=22Sabden Primary School50%
#24St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden43%
#25Barnacre Road Primary School41%
#26Ribchester St Wilfrid's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School30%
#27Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School14%

View full Ofsted inspection report

19th of 23 primary schools in Ribble Valley for Ofsted rating

#17St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst GreenGood
#18St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, OsbaldestonGood
#19St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, SabdenGood
#20St Michael and St John's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#21Thorneyholme Roman Catholic Primary School, Dunsop BridgeGood

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

#1Brabins Endowed SchoolOutstanding
#2Gisburn Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, LongridgeGood
#4Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
#5Barrow URC Primary SchoolGood
#6Clitheroe Pendle Primary SchoolGood
#7Edisford Primary SchoolGood
#8Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
#9Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#10Mellor St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#11Read St John's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#12Ribchester St Wilfrid's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
#13Salesbury Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#14Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#15Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary SchoolGood
#16St James' Church of England Primary School, ClitheroeGood
#17St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst GreenGood
#18St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, OsbaldestonGood
#19St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, SabdenGood
#20St Michael and St John's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#21Thorneyholme Roman Catholic Primary School, Dunsop BridgeGood
#22Waddington and West Bradford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
#23Barnacre Road Primary SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £9,461 (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.

7th of 31 primary schools in Ribble Valley for spending per pupil

#5Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£10,774
#6Brabins Endowed School£9,547
#7St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden£9,461
#8St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Osbaldeston£8,399
#9Clitheroe Brookside Primary School£8,205

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

#1Thorneyholme Roman Catholic Primary School, Dunsop Bridge£19,468
#2Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary School£16,602
#3Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£14,114
#4St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Chipping£11,041
#5Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£10,774
#6Brabins Endowed School£9,547
#7St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden£9,461
#8St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Osbaldeston£8,399
#9Clitheroe Brookside Primary School£8,205
#10Ribchester St Wilfrid's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,102
#11St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst Green£7,626
#12Barnacre Road Primary School£7,415
#13Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary School£7,343
#14Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,297
#15Sabden Primary School£6,932
#16Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,838
#17Chatburn Church of England Primary School£6,711
#18Salesbury Church of England Primary School£6,632
#19Mellor St Mary Church of England Primary School£6,626
#20Gisburn Primary School£6,529
#21Edisford Primary School£6,486
#22Read St John's CofE Primary School£6,465
#23Barrow URC Primary School£6,376
#24St James' Church of England Primary School, Clitheroe£6,331
#25Waddington and West Bradford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,296
#26Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge£6,282
#27Longridge Church of England Primary School£6,210
#28Whalley Church of England Primary School£6,201
#29Clitheroe Pendle Primary School£6,192
#30Langho and Billington St Leonards Church of England Primary School£5,814
#31St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Langho£5,535

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

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