The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School
General Information
- Address: Valley Drive, Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, LS29 8NL – View on map
- Phone: 01943609578
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Claire Gilhooly
- Age range: 5-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 10 families put it first for 13 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 13 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 8
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 10
- % eligible for free school meals: 8.5%
- Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Bradford average)
- English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 24.5% a year (Bradford 16%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 46% moved to another school, 54% 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
Across Bradford: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 17 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (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 Bradford, 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: 3.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.3%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 6.8%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.6%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 58% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 11% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: in line with the Bradford average (60%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 66% against an expected 67%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 66%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 89% · Writing 63% · Maths 79% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 89%
- Average test scores: reading 108, maths 103
- Based on: 19 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 89th of 158 junior and primary schools in the area
- =89St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy58%
- =89Swain House Primary School58%
- =89The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School58%
- =89Woodside Academy58%
- =95Home Farm Primary School57%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
107th of 127 primary schools in Bradford for Ofsted rating
- #105Thackley Primary SchoolGood
- #106The Academy At St. JamesGood
- #107The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolGood
- #108Thornbury Primary Leadership AcademyGood
- #109Thornton Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,097 (2024-25)
49th of 156 primary schools in Bradford for spending per pupil
- #47Laycock Academy£7,114
- #48Swain House Primary School£7,112
- #49The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School£7,097
- #50The Academy At St. James£7,094
- #51Westminster Church of England Primary Academy£7,091
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)