Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Burnley

Ofsted's report card from its 14 April 2026 inspection grades Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School on 7 areas: 7 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Needs attention. "There is variation in how well pupils at the school achieve in English, mathematics and in other subjects."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Pupils' attendance varies."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "The impact of the curriculum on pupils is variable."

Early years - Needs attention. "Children are not as well prepared for the curriculum in Year 1 and beyond as they should be."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "Leaders recognise the barriers to learning that some pupils face due to additional challenges in their lives."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "The checks that leaders carry out to find out how well pupils are thriving and achieving lack rigour at times."

Personal development and wellbeing - Needs attention. "The design of the personal development programme lacks rigour and precision."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should identify and address areas of the school's work that need improvement quickly and effectively"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers find out what pupils most need to learn. They should ensure that teachers identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge and misconceptions in a timely manner. This is most important for pupils' foundational knowledge of reading, writing and mathematics"; "Leaders should make sure that all pupils develop secure foundational knowledge of reading, writing and mathematics so that they are better prepared for their next steps of education. In particular, pupils' transcriptional knowledge and skills should be developed more effectively and embedded more quickly"; "Leaders should ensure that children in the early years are prepared as well as possible for their transition to Year 1 and beyond. They should ensure that children develop secure foundational knowledge in reading and writing"; "Leaders should make sure that pupils who face additional challenges in life consistently receive the support that they need to achieve as well as they can. This is particularly true for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities"; "Leaders should strengthen their systems and processes for monitoring and analysing emerging patterns of concerning attendance and behaviour so that they can intervene more effectively"; "Leaders should ensure that all staff adhere to the school's agreed policy for managing behaviour"; "Leaders should make sure that the impact of their personal development programme is evident in how pupils behave and respond to others".

From the headteacher's welcome: "A very warm welcome to St Stephen's Church of England VA Primary School. It is a real privilege to be the Headteacher of St Stephen's and to lead such a wonderful school community. We are incredibly proud of our children, our dedicated staff and the families who make our school the special place that it is."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, athletics, choir, chess, gardening and eco club.

The school runs after-school care.

Coming up: an open day on Tuesday 15 June 2027, an open day on Tuesday 22 June 2027, an open day on Tuesday 29 June 2027 and an open day on Tuesday 6 July 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils at Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 43% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in Lancashire and 77% and 75% across England.

Results were similar in 2024 (50% in reading, 53% in maths).

With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.

For September 2026 entry, 27 families put Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School as their first choice and 90 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 2 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state primary schools to Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School are Burnley Springfield Community Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 57% reading, 63% maths); Burnley Brunshaw Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 54% reading, 25% maths); St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.7 miles, 57% reading, 57% maths); and Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 73% reading, 70% maths).

Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

38% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 10.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (85%) and Black (6%).

In 2026, 46 pupils (23%) received SEN support and 3 (1.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

The nearest railway station is Burnley Manchester Road Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Smalley Street (opposite), 150 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 506 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lancashire (109), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School issued 24 suspensions, 11.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The secondary schools closest to Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School are Unity College (0.3 miles); and Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy (0.8 miles).