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St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School

Primary · Preston · PR5 6TA

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 14 January 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

251 pupils · 80% of 315 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
31.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
22.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.smsb.lancs.sch.uk/
URN
119704

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 24 families named it first for 24 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 14 January 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

24 places offered · 24 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.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
52%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
7%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
104
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
102
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 school52%
Median of its 12 closest peers65.5%
Lancashire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind 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
The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary OverieLONDON · 188 miles awayOutstanding93%
Teagues Bridge Primary SchoolTelford · 71 miles awayNeeds attention66%
St Stephen and All Martyrs' CofE School, Lever BridgeBolton · 15 miles awayGood65%
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, HinckleyHinckley · 98 miles awayGood56%
Christ Church (Church of England) Junior SchoolWolverhampton · 81 miles awayGood56%
St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolManchester · 27 miles awayGood66%
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, ChorleyChorley · 5 miles awayGood74%
Westbrook Old Hall Primary SchoolWarrington · 23 miles awayNeeds attention44%
Tudor Church of England Primary School, SudburySudbury · 183 miles awayGood53%
Kingsham Primary SchoolChichester · 216 miles awayGood69%
St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyManchester · 20 miles awayExpected standard58%
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, BasildonBasildon · 200 miles awayStrong standard87%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 66% (Lancashire 74%, England 60%) · Any other White background 11% (Lancashire 3%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 7% (Lancashire 2%, England 2%) · Black African 4% (Lancashire 2%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 3% (Lancashire 3%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Lancashire 2%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Lancashire 8%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 2%

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)
6.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

6.74 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
19.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

79% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 14% 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 pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,310; 23.1% 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£7,599
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 71% (76%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 16% (9%) · educational supplies 6% (4%) · bought-in professional services 9% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £105,060; in-year balance -£1,572

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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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher25.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work24.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways22.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier46.3%62.3%
Social housing19.1%17.1%
Privately rented34.5%20.5%
Detached houses6.9%22.9%
Flats27.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms5.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van26.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025407 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£185,000463 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£147,000–£229,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (92)£287,500
Semi-detached (238)£185,500
Terraced (110)£135,000
Flat (23)£107,500

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of 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
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
32an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
15an 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