St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

About St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School in Hyndburn received an Inadequate rating from Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in January 2023, a significant downgrade from its previous Requires Improvement judgement in 2019. The inspection report paints a stark picture: leadership and management, quality of education, and early years provision were all rated Inadequate, while personal development and behaviour and attitudes were judged as Requires Improvement. This is a school that has clearly struggled, and the data backs that up. With only 129 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, the school is operating well below its potential, and 35.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The school's most informative exam metric is its Key Stage 2 performance, which sits at 60% achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, exactly matching the Lancashire local authority average. That is a solid, unremarkable result, but it does not tell the full story of a school that Ofsted found to be failing in core areas.

The school's academic outcomes, when viewed through the lens of its Ofsted report, reveal a more complex picture than the KS2 headline suggests. While the 60% figure matches the LA average, the inspection found that the quality of education is Inadequate, meaning that the curriculum is not consistently well-delivered across all subjects. The early years provision is also Inadequate, which is a particular concern for a primary school. The previous inspection in 2019 rated the school as Requires Improvement overall, with leadership and management also at that level, so the decline is clear. There is no Progress 8 data available for primary schools, but the KS2 results alone do not indicate a catastrophic academic failure; rather, the issue is systemic, with leadership and management judged Inadequate. The school's small size means that individual pupil performance can have an outsized impact on overall figures, and the high proportion of disadvantaged pupils adds context to the results.

Practically, St Anne's and St Joseph's is a Roman Catholic primary school for children aged 4 to 11, and it is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 48 applications for just 13 places, a ratio of 3.69 applicants per place, with all 13 first-preference applicants receiving offers. The school offers a range of facilities including art studios, a sensory room, music rooms, a dining hall, and a chapel, and runs clubs such as art, coding, drama, and choir. Sports provision includes cricket, dance, football, gymnastics, and rounders. The school has a broad SEND offer, supporting conditions from dyslexia and autistic spectrum disorder to profound and multiple learning difficulties. This is a school that, despite its Ofsted rating, clearly has strong local demand, likely driven by its faith character and small, community feel. It will suit families who are committed to the Catholic ethos and are willing to engage closely with the school's improvement journey, but the Inadequate rating is a serious concern that parents will need to weigh carefully.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents