St Thomas's Centre
Special / other · Blackburn · BB1 9TH
Data updated
Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)
The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.
Inspected 9 September 2026 · report published 14 October 2026
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
115 pupils (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Pupil referral unit
- Age range
- 5–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 59.1% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 6.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 72.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 9.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.stthomasscentre.com
- URN
- 132128
In figures
At its report-card inspection on 9 September 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. It had 115 pupils at the 15 January 2026 census.
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 66% (Blackburn with Darwen 67%, England 73%) · Asian Pakistani 18% (Blackburn with Darwen 18%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 6% (Blackburn with Darwen 6%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 3% (Blackburn with Darwen 3%, England 0%) · Any other White background 3% (Blackburn with Darwen 3%, England 3%) · White Traveller of Irish heritage 2% (Blackburn with Darwen 2%, England 0%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Blackburn with Darwen 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Blackburn with Darwen 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Blackburn with Darwen 1%, England 4%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
73% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 4% moved to another state school · 23% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
8.85% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
70.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 10.4 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 £54,975; 23.8% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for pupil referral unit schools in brackets: Staff 71% (78%) · premises 8% (4%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (4%) · supplies and services 13% (11%) · educational supplies 6% (3%) · bought-in professional services 7% (5%) · catering 4% (1%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £347,700; in-year balance +£247,931
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →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
- 11 June 2024: School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next
- 19 June 2018: Outstanding
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 22.2% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 34.1% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 12.3% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 36.1% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 46.6% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 60% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 15.5% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 24.5% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 8.6% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 1.1% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 33% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 23.9% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01012577 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £150,000368 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £120,000–£200,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth 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
- 6an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 4an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 30an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 7an 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