St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Stacksteads, Bacup
About St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Stacksteads, Bacup
St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Stacksteads, Bacup, sits well below the Lancashire local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes, with just 14% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a county average of 60%. This places the school 415th out of 480 primary schools in Lancashire and in the bottom 50 nationally. The gap is stark, but the context matters: 58. 1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, and the school is small, with 132 children on roll. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated overall effectiveness as Good, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. The early years provision was judged Outstanding, and behaviour, personal development, leadership and management all scored Good. So while headline academic metrics are low, the school has clearly turned a corner in quality of care and leadership.
Key Details
The full report on this school
The inspection in plain English, admissions context, and how this school compares to nearby alternatives — all in one full school report.
- Ofsted inspection in plain EnglishStrengths, concerns and what inspectors flagged
- Parent View survey resultsWhat parents told Ofsted — when the school has 10+ responses
- Where Ofsted and parents disagreeGaps to probe + questions to ask at the open day
- Admissions & catchmentAdmission criteria, distance cutoffs (where the LA publishes them)
- Nearby schools comparedBackup options with Ofsted, demand and distance
- Attendance & behaviour dataPersistent absentees, suspensions and exclusions vs national
Ofsted Inspection Breakdown
5 Apr 2022Source: Ofsted, 26 May 2022. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
SEND Support
Source: Department for Education, 2024/25. Support availability based on current student population.
School day
Teaching hours
08:55 – 15:15
Breakfast club
08:00-08:55
After-school care
15:20-17:30
Source: stjosephsbacup.co.uk. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
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