St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Stacksteads, Bacup

Primary · Bacup · OL13 8LD

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: Needs attentionAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Needs attentionPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Needs attentionEarly years: Needs attentionPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 28 April 2026 · report published 24 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

125 pupils · 86% of 145 capacity

School type: Voluntary aided school
Age range: 3–11
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Free school meals: 55.9% of pupils
English as additional language: 6.1% of pupils
SEN support: 37.1% of pupils
EHC plan: 4.5% of pupils
Nursery: Yes
Website: http://www.stjosephsbacup.co.uk
URN: 119661

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.90 first-choice applications per place

10 places offered · 9 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)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths

50%

England 62%

Reaching the higher standard

England 8%

Average scaled score (reading)

England 106

Average scaled score (maths)

100

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)

England 6.5%

Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)

27.1%

England 18.1%

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

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher

20.3

England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

71% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 29% left the state-funded sector

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£8,163

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

28 April 2026: Needs attention (report card inspection)
5 April 2022: Good (graded inspection)
19 June 2018: Requires improvement (graded inspection)

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

Nearby schools

Bacup Holy Trinity Stacksteads Church of England Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 0.1 mi
The Valley Leadership AcademyNeeds attention · Secondary · 0.8 mi
Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 0.9 mi
Waterfoot Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 1.1 mi
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar SchoolInadequate · Secondary · 1.2 mi
Bacup Nursery SchoolOutstanding · Nursery · 1.2 mi
Bacup Thorn Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 1.2 mi
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyNeeds attention · Primary · 1.3 mi

See all primary schools in Bacup →