School Chooser

Gisburn Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCouncil140 pupilsClitheroeLancashire
School Chooser Score
94
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 86 to 98
Out of 100. Better than 100% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, July 2025
Reached the expected level at 1194%England 63%
Attendance96.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families9%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull140 pupils, 140 places
Pupils per teacher28.0School workforce census

Gisburn Primary School is a council school in Clitheroe for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 140 pupils and every place is taken. About 9 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 95 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Burnley Road, Gisburn, Clitheroe, BB7 4ET01200 445406gisburn.lancsngfl.ac.ukMr Ian Jones headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 8 July 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
17 April 2024UngradedSchool remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

18 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1194%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level17%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 100%100%20172018: 94%94%20182019: 86%86%20192023: 95%95%20232024: 91%91%20242025: 94%94%2025
Since 2017: -6%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LancashireEngland
Pupils tested182220221610
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths94%91%95%86%94%100%61%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths17%27%15%32%31%20%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0108.0109.0110.0110.0110.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0110.0109.0109.0109.0108.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0110.0108.0110.0112.0112.0104.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard100%91%95%95%94%100%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard94%100%100%91%100%100%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)100%100%95%91%100%100%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.1+3.9+2.7+5.8
Maths progressMaths progress score+4.1+2.5+2.8+3.6
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged94%100%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
100%89%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full137 pupils for 140 places, 2024/25
98% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Lancashire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll140Census January 2026
Places140100% full
Pupils from low-income families9%9% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support8%11 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan1%1 pupil with a plan
Average class size28.05 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils60%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)7%£13,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls79 / 61
White British pupils90%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 33.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Other difficulty or disability (5), emotional and mental health (4), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Specific learning difficulty (1), language and communications needs (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll140137140144142143
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals9%7%3%2%4%3%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%1%1%0%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support7%7%1%6%4%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans0%0%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school3.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.3%4.0%3.4%3.4%2.1%2.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.2%2.9%2.7%2.8%1.8%1.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.2%0.8%0.6%0.3%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence3.3%7.1%4.0%3.2%3.2%0.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers5.0full-time equivalent, 6 people
Pupils per teacher28.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants1.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£54,098
Teachers who left in the year43%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.42024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,529England £7,738. Total £895k
Income per pupil£6,287England £7,697. Total £861k
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,844England £3,480
Money in reserve6%Not much put by: £51k, £375 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£33kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,529spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m3012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate32 per 1,000 people65% lower than the England average
Typical house price£275,000Ribble Valley
Nearest bus stop80 mPrimary School, 6 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolChurch of England2.5 miles25Report card 202618Compare
St Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy3.2 miles119Good 202348Compare
Gisburn Road Community Primary SchoolCouncil3.2 miles204No overall grade 202574Compare
Barnoldswick Church of England Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England3.7 miles342Good 202246Compare
Coates Lane Primary SchoolCouncil3.7 miles157No overall grade 202514Compare
Salterforth Primary SchoolCouncil4.3 miles102Good 202337Compare
Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolChurch of England4.5 miles29Good 202316Compare
Chatburn Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England4.6 miles132No overall grade 202468Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Gisburn Primary School with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats100%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 95 is 21 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 24 · middle 74 · highest 93100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 95 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 95% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 86 to 98. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.25
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 18 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%above
+0.12
Ofsted grade, 1.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.18
DfE progress measure; 18 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.13
2024/25; 122 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.22
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 18 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Gisburn Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Gisburn Primary School scores 95 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 86 to 98, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Gisburn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Gisburn Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 8 July 2025.

How good are Gisburn Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 94% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 17% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Gisburn Primary School have?

140 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 140 places, so it is 100% full.

Is Gisburn Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Gisburn Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Gisburn Primary School?

The average class had 28.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 60% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Burnley Road, Gisburn, Clitheroe, BB7 4ET
Telephone
01200 445406
Website
www.gisburn.lancsngfl.ac.uk
Headteacher
Mr Ian Jones
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Lancashire
Ward
Gisburn & Rimington
Constituency
Ribble Valley
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
119270 · LAESTAB 8882266 · UKPRN 10072983

Where these figures come from