St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is a converter academy in Blackburn for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 161 pupils and room for 210. About 17 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Knowles Street, Rishton, Blackburn, BB1 4HT01254 886110st-charles.lancs.sch.ukMrs Laura Orr headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 March 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.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 29 January 2020 | Ungraded | School remains Good |
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
22 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of St Charles' RC School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 22 | 29 | 30 | 22 | 28 | 30 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 62% | 47% | 77% | 71% | 60% | 61% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 3% | 13% | 5% | 11% | 7% | 8% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 103.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 | 105.2 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 101.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.2 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 102.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 | 104.9 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 68% | 76% | 63% | 82% | 71% | 73% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 59% | 72% | 60% | 86% | 79% | 67% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 68% | 72% | 67% | 82% | 82% | 77% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -2.9 | -1.7 | -0.5 | +1.1 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -2.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | -1.0 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | – | 21% | 67% | 67% | 55% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | – | – | 69% | 81% | 75% | 63% | – | – |
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.
† These results are for St Charles' RC School, the school this one replaced in January 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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
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. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 33.7 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (13), emotional and mental health (9), Specific learning difficulty (7), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Physical disability (1).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 5.0% | 5.0% | 4.6% | 4.8% | 6.1% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.9% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 5.6% | 2.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.1% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 10.4% | 9.7% | 8.8% | 8.1% | 22.6% | 6.5% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for St Charles' RC School, the school this one replaced in January 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Money
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rishton Methodist Primary School | Methodist | 330 m | 143 | Not inspected | 43 | Compare |
| Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 450 m | 188 | Good 2023 | 44 | Compare |
| Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.2 miles | 158 | Good 2023 | 23 | Compare |
| Great Harwood Primary School | Council | 1.2 miles | 210 | Good 2023 | 29 | Compare |
| St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | Roman Catholic | 1.2 miles | 135 | Good 2023 | 14 | Compare |
| Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 267 | Good 2019 | 79 | Compare |
| Oswaldtwistle West End Primary School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 200 | Good 2024 | 29 | Compare |
| St Nicholas Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.4 miles | 187 | Report card 2026 | 26 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy a good school?
St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in March 2025.
What is St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 25 March 2025.
How good are St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 55% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 14% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have?
161 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 77% full.
What is attendance like at St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?
Pupils were in school 95.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?
The average class had 32.2 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
- Knowles Street, Rishton, Blackburn, BB1 4HT
- Telephone
- 01254 886110
- Website
- www.st-charles.lancs.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Orr
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Diocese of Salford
- Multi-academy trust
- Romero Catholic Academy Trust (18 schools)
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward
- Rishton
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 2026 (academy converter)
- URN
- 152199 · LAESTAB 8883752 · UKPRN 10099293
- Formerly
- St Charles' RC School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.