Whalley Church of England Primary School

Ribble Valley · BB7 9SY

General information Primary School · 5-11 years Who goes here 315 pupils, 6.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.7% on SEN support Behaviour 4.0% absence rate Staff 6.8% turnover Financials £6,201 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Whalley Church of England Primary School

General Information

Address: Church Lane, Whalley, Clitheroe, BB7 9SY – View on map
Phone: 01254823348
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Richard Blackburn
Age range: 5-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 37 families put it first for 43 places – 9 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 9 · 2024 11 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

315 pupils out of 315 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 21
% eligible for free school meals: 6.7%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Ribble Valley average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.8% a year (Ribble Valley 12.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 45% moved to another school, 55% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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: 4.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 4.9%
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: 13.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Other difficulty or disability: 14 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Hearing impairment: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil
Other difficulty or disability: 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

Ofsted report card March 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 81% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 12% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Ribble Valley average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 74% against an expected 65%)
3-year average (expected standard): 74%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 88% · Writing 84% · Maths 88% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 91%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 107
Based on: 43 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↗ Improving Up 18 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Ribble Valley average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 5th of 27 junior and primary schools in the area

#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%

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,201 (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.

28th of 31 primary schools in Ribble Valley for spending per pupil

#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

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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