SCHOOL PROFILE

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School, Preston

Primary Academy converter URN 149414
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 93.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

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

Previous Ofsted activity

28 September 2021
Graded inspection Good
Published 10 November 2021
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman 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 393 393 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 193 49.1% of pupils
Male pupils 200 50.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

33.1%
8.3 pts above England
School 33.1%
Preston 25.0%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

20.1%
0.2 pts below England
School 20.1%
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
57.0%
224
African
13.0%
51
Any other White background
8.7%
34
Indian
5.1%
20
Pakistani
4.8%
19
Any other Asian background
2.8%
11
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 26.5% 104 of 393 pupils
5.6 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 26.5%
Preston 18.7%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 23.4% 92 pupils
England 14.8% 8.6 pts above
EHC plans 3.1% 12 pupils
England 6.0% 3.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 43
Social, emotional & mental health 21
No specialist assessment yet 18
Autistic spectrum disorder 10
Other difficulty or disability 4
Moderate learning difficulty 3

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

36.0% 24.4 pts below England
School 36.0%
Preston 59.1%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

50.0%

23.8 pts below England

School 50.0%
Preston 72.0%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

59.0%

11.3 pts below England

School 59.0%
Preston 68.0%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

52.0%

20.0 pts below England

School 52.0%
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

7.25%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.03 pts higher than England
School 7.25%
Preston 6.27%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

19.66%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.85 pts higher than England
School 19.66%
Preston 15.79%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.09%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.29 pts higher than England
School 3.09%
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

93.6% 5.4 pts above England
The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School, Preston
93.6%
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