Higham St John's Church of England Primary School, Burnley

Primary
Voluntary controlled school
Mixed
Church of England
Ages 411

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~1.6km)Possible (~2.3km)Unlikely (~3.0km)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Helen Shaw
Pupils:120 / 140 capacity
LA:Lancashire
Phone:01282772376
Address:Higham Hall Road, Higham, Burnley, BB12 9EU
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 8 months ago

Report card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)

Achievement
Needs Attention
Behaviour
Needs Attention
Personal Development
Expected Standard
Leadership
Urgent Improvement
Early Years
Urgent Improvement
Inspected 27 January 2026View full report
URN:119387
UKPRN:10073469
Diocese:Diocese of Blackburn
Constituency:Pendle and Clitheroe
Urban/Rural:Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

The school has developed a thoughtful personal development programme that helps all pupils become well-rounded citizens. Pupils participate enthusiastically in enrichment activities and trips, and feel cared for and safe. During social times, behaviour is good with pupils showing respect towards staff and each other.

Key Strengths

  • Personal development programme enables pupils to become well-rounded citizens with opportunities for residential visits and trips to places of worship
  • Pupils show good behaviour during social times, treating staff and each other with respect
  • Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed

Areas for Improvement

  • Younger pupils do not achieve well enough and many have gaps in knowledge beyond English and mathematics
  • Early years curriculum does not meet requirements - learning environments are poor quality and children are not encouraged to become independent learners
  • Teaching of basic skills like reading, handwriting and spelling is weak, and teachers do not check how well pupils are learning
  • Pupils with SEND are not supported well enough and staff lack skills to adapt teaching for these pupils
  • Leaders and governors hold overly generous views of the school and do not focus sharply on areas needing improvement

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Residential visits, trips to places of worship, lunchtime clubs, hopes and dreams day, visits from fire service and police

Higham St John's Church of England Primary School requires special measures as it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education. Leaders and governors lack the capacity to secure necessary improvements across the school.

At a Glance

19.2%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading-12ppMathsWriting-17pp

Reading has declined from 88% to 76%. Maths has remained stable at around 82%. Writing has declined from 76% to 59%.

Class Sizes

26.6

Avg class size

5

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Social & online

Getting There

Bus Stops

St Johns CEPS (opp)
31m · 1 min walk
Four Alls Inn (o/s)
168m · 3 min walk
Leet Road (by)
559m · 9 min walk
Fir Trees Lane (by)
925m · 15 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

86%

Available places

120 pupils

140 capacity

20 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Burnley

High pressure
New homes approved:2,197
Projected new pupils:549

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Burnley

Admissions Demand - Lancashire

Low demand0.77x oversubscription

Places available

15,664

Applications

12,136

Got 1st preference

93.0%

Got preferred school

98.8%

Primary admissions across Lancashire (2025/26)

Inspection History(8)

27 January 2026Report card
Achievement
Behaviour
Personal Development
Leadership
Early Years
15 September 2021
19 January 2016

House Prices

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

4.8581%

Overall absence

11.2069%

Persistent absence

116

Enrolments

Authorised3.37068%
Unauthorised1.48742%
Persistent (10%+)11.2069%
Severe (50%+)1.72414%

Absence trend

2.31529%
18/19
4.52976%
20/21
3.36134%
21/22
4.63969%
22/23
4.7054%
23/24
4.8581%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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