Higham St John's Church of England Primary School

Primary · Burnley · BB12 9EU

Needs attention

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Urgent improvementAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Needs attentionPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Needs attentionLeadership & governance: Urgent improvementEarly years: Urgent improvementPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 27 January 2026 · report published 21 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

120 pupils · 86% of 140 capacity

School type: Voluntary controlled school
Age range: 4–11
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Free school meals: 19.2% of pupils
English as additional language: 17.3% of pupils
SEN support: 9.8% of pupils
EHC plan: 6% of pupils
Website: www.higham.lancs.sch.uk
URN: 119387

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.88 first-choice applications per place

16 places offered · 14 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

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths

53%

England 62%

Reaching the higher standard

England 8%

Average scaled score (reading)

103

England 106

Average scaled score (maths)

104

England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)

5.6%

England 6.5%

Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)

10.5%

England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher

20.7

England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£7,572

Typical primary school£6,960

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, council-maintained school finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history since 2015

27 January 2026: Needs attention (report card inspection)
15 September 2021: School remains Good (ungraded inspection)
19 January 2016: Yes - improving (good) (ungraded inspection)

Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.

Nearby schools

Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 1.4 mi
Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement · Primary · 1.9 mi
Newchurch-In-Pendle St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 1.9 mi
Shuttleworth CollegeNot yet graded · Secondary · 2.0 mi
Padiham Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 2.0 mi
Burnley High SchoolExpected standard · Secondary · 2.1 mi
St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood · Primary · 2.1 mi
Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church SchoolGood · Primary · 2.1 mi

See all primary schools in Burnley →