SchoolFacts.uk

Helmshore Primary School

Primary · Rossendale · BB4 4JW

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 30 January 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

397 pupils · 96% of 414 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
5–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
5.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
2.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.helmshoreprimaryschool.co.uk
URN
119195

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 49 families named it first for 55 Reception places, 0.89 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 30 January 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.89 first-choice applications per place

55 places offered · 49 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

57 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
88%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
14%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
107
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
108
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school88%
Median of its 12 closest peers77%
Lancashire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
St Mark's CofE Primary SchoolManchester · 13 miles awayGood83%
Heron Way Primary SchoolHorsham · 201 miles awayOutstanding95%
Lunts Heath Primary SchoolWidnes · 27 miles awayOutstanding84%
Ludworth Primary SchoolStockport · 23 miles awayGood77%
Cliffe Woods Primary SchoolRochester · 196 miles awayGood53%
Etching Hill CofE Primary AcademyRugeley · 66 miles awayGood79%
Norbury Hall Primary SchoolStockport · 24 miles awayGood74%
Hartsfield Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolBaldock · 148 miles awayGood (2016)64%
Coppice Primary SchoolSutton Coldfield · 79 miles awayGood (2019)92%
Halterworth Primary SchoolRomsey · 190 miles awayGood68%
Telford Junior SchoolLeamington Spa · 101 miles awayExpected standard65%
Oatlands Community Junior SchoolHarrogate · 38 miles awayGood77%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (Lancashire 74%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Lancashire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Lancashire 8%, England 5%) · Any other White background 1% (Lancashire 3%, England 7%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
4.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Lancashire: 2.62 suspensions and 0.07 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
24.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

96% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 4% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

6.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 107.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,773; 17.6% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,376
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £103,896; in-year balance -£66,651

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher38.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications13.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work44.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways10.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health52%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier88%62.3%
Social housing2.2%17.1%
Privately rented9.8%20.5%
Detached houses53.8%22.9%
Flats1.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms31.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van9.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025380 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£255,000231 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£190,000–£317,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (72)£340,000
Semi-detached (73)£239,000
Terraced (56)£190,000
Flat (30)£208,500

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
6an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
11an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools