School Chooser

Longshaw Infant School

Primary · ages 4-7MixedCouncil203 pupilsBlackburnBlackburn with Darwen
School Chooser Score
12
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 5 to 28, so it could be “below”
Out of 100. Better than 24% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
#14,085 of 16,041 in England#44 in Blackburn with DarwenHow it is worked out
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, January 2026
Attendance93.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families43%Far more than most schools
Places67 spare203 pupils, 270 places
Pupils per teacher22.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll203Census January 2026

Longshaw Infant School is a council school in Blackburn for boys and girls aged 4 to 7. It has 203 pupils and room for 270. About 43 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 12 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 24% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in January 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Crosby Road, Blackburn, BB2 3NF01254 260534longshawinfants.co.ukMrs Vicky Foy headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 6 January 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
28 September 2021S5 InspectionGood

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places207 pupils for 270 places, 2024/25
77% full

63 places were empty (23% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 11% 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 Blackburn with Darwen 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 roll203Census January 2026
Places27075% full
Pupils from low-income families43%43% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English20%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support17%35 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%13 pupils with a plan
Average class size25.48 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)38%£119,350 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls104 / 99
White British pupils65%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (24), emotional and mental health (8), Autistic spectrum disorder (7), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Hearing impairment (1), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll203215237212231232
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals43%43%45%48%49%47%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language20%22%15%15%12%15%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–16%13%20%26%21%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–3%3%3%2%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school25.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.9%7.3%8.8%8.0%5.1%4.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.6%4.8%5.8%5.6%3.5%3.0%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.3%2.5%3.0%2.4%1.6%1.9%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence25.5%25.0%33.5%30.1%15.9%12.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.73.00.00.00.0––
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000––

Staff and money

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

Teachers9.0full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher22.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants12.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,418
Teachers who left in the year33%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.42024/25

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£8,643England £7,738. Total £1.9m
Income per pupil£8,930England £7,697. Total £1.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,282England £3,480
Money in reserve10%A healthy amount put by: £185k, £860 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£62kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,643spent 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 m33012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate156 per 1,000 people72% higher than the England average
Typical house price£169,000Blackburn with Darwen
Nearest bus stop90 mLomgshaw Infant School, 12 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
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnRoman Catholic320 m180Report card 202667Compare
Longshaw Community Junior SchoolCouncil580 m334Good 202246Compare
Blackburn the Redeemer CofE PrimaryChurch of England610 m416No overall grade 202497Compare
Lower Darwen Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles382Good 202310Compare
St James' Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England0.8 miles202No overall grade 202442Compare
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnRoman Catholic0.9 miles203Good 202260Compare
St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England AcademyAcademy0.9 miles182No overall grade 20257Compare
St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles202No overall grade 20248Compare
Primary schools in Blackburn with DarwenPrimary schools in BlackburnBest primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Longshaw Infant School with the 46 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 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats24%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 12 is 23 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 35 · highest 88100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Longshaw Infant School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Brockholes Wood Community Primary School and NurseryCouncil7.4 miles191Good 202435Compare
Brookfield Community Primary SchoolCouncil8.4 miles196Good 202261Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 12 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 12% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 5 to 28. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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 years0%no data
–
Ofsted inspection20%below
-0.17
Ofsted report card, 0.7 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
–
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.11
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.33
2024/25; 157 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
–
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 Longshaw Infant School a good school?

The figures are weak. Longshaw Infant School scores 12 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 24% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 5 to 28, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Longshaw Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 6 January 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How many pupils does Longshaw Infant School have?

203 pupils aged 4 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 270 places, so it is 75% full.

Is Longshaw Infant School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 63 places were empty in 2024/25 (23% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Longshaw Infant School?

Pupils were in school 93.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Longshaw Infant School?

The average class had 25.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
Crosby Road, Blackburn, BB2 3NF
Telephone
01254 260534
Website
www.longshawinfants.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Vicky Foy
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-7
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Ward
Blackburn South East
Constituency
Blackburn
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
119125 · LAESTAB 8892013 · UKPRN 10074056
Official recordOfsted reportsGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from