SCHOOL PROFILE

St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, Preston

Primary Academy converter URN 149312
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 226 Published school capacity
Capacity used 100.0% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

3 February 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching Needs attention
Achievement Needs attention
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Expected standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Catholic
Local authority Lancashire
Trust MATER ECCLESIAE CATHOLIC MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 226 223 full-time · 3 part-time
Female pupils 111 49.1% of pupils
Male pupils 115 50.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

19.0%
5.8 pts below England
School 19.0%
Preston 25.0%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

11.5%
8.8 pts below England
School 11.5%
Preston 31.2%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Preston 0.2%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
82.7%
187
Any other White background
4.4%
10
Any other Asian background
2.7%
6
African
2.2%
5
White and Black Caribbean
2.2%
5
Indian
1.8%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 18.1% 41 of 226 pupils
2.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 18.1%
Preston 18.7%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.8% 38 pupils
England 14.8% 2.0 pts above
EHC plans 1.3% 3 pupils
England 6.0% 4.7 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 16
Autistic spectrum disorder 8
Specific learning difficulty 7
Social, emotional & mental health 6
Other difficulty or disability 2
No specialist assessment yet 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

58.0% 2.4 pts below England
School 58.0%
Preston 59.1%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

68.0%

5.8 pts below England

School 68.0%
Preston 72.0%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

81.0%

10.7 pts above England

School 81.0%
Preston 68.0%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

87.0%

15.0 pts above England

School 87.0%
Preston 72.3%
North West 71.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.19%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.02 pts lower than England
School 4.19%
Preston 6.27%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

6.38%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

9.43 pts lower than England
School 6.38%
Preston 15.79%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Preston 1.85%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

100.0% 11.8 pts above England
St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, Preston
100.0%
Preston
88.5%
North West
90.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information