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Blackfordby St Margaret's Church of England Primary School

Primary · Swadlincote · DE11 8AB

Data updated

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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: Expected standardAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Needs attentionPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Needs attentionLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 21 April 2026 · report published 7 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

86 pupils · 82% of 105 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
15.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
18% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.blackfordbyschool.org/
URN
145084

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 12 families named it first for 14 Reception places, 0.86 first choices per place. At its report-card inspection on 21 April 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.86 first-choice applications per place

14 places offered · 12 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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
40%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
104
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
98
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 school40%
Median of its 12 closest peers59%
Leicestershire average63.1%
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
Austrey CofE Primary SchoolAtherstone · 7 miles awayGood90%
Middleton-In-Teesdale AcademyBarnard Castle · 131 miles awayInadequate58%
St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolLittlehampton · 141 miles awayGood69%
Rolvenden Primary SchoolCranbrook · 149 miles awayGood73%
Stanton Under Bardon Community Primary SchoolMarkfield · 10 miles awayNo current grade47%
West Heslerton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolMalton · 104 miles awayGood50%
Thurleigh Primary SchoolBedford · 58 miles awayGood50%
St Dominic CofE Primary SchoolCornwall · 196 miles awayOutstanding86%
Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary & Nursery SchoolBelper · 22 miles awayGood60%
Sutton-Cum-Lound CofE SchoolRetford · 47 miles awayGood38%
Ellingham VC Primary SchoolBungay · 127 miles awayGood30%
Ardleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary AcademyColchester · 120 miles awayRequires improvement64%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 95% (Leicestershire 73%, England 60%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Leicestershire 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Leicestershire 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 1% (Leicestershire 4%, England 7%)

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)
6.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

29.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Leicestershire: 2.10 suspensions and 0.02 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
18.7
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

61% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 39% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

62.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 3.7 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 £50,589; 14.3% 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 (2024-25)

This school£5,370
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 12% (8%) · supplies and services 10% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 5% (2%) · catering 9% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£143,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, 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)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher27.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications21%18.1%
In managerial or professional work32.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways18%18.1%
Residents in very good health39.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier81%62.3%
Social housing13.9%17.1%
Privately rented5%20.5%
Detached houses57.1%22.9%
Flats0.3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms24.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van11.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025952 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£292,000127 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£236,000–£345,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (71)£340,000
Semi-detached (46)£246,000
Terraced (10)£171,000

Homes around this school are dearer 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

No collision was reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025.

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
0an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an 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