SCHOOL PROFILE

St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 119665
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 100.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 5 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

19 January 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Lancashire
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 211 211 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 112 53.1% of pupils
Male pupils 99 46.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

11.4%
13.4 pts below England
School 11.4%
Rossendale 22.6%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

1.4%
18.9 pts below England
School 1.4%
Rossendale 6.0%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

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

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
93.4%
197
Any other White background
1.9%
4
White and Asian
1.4%
3
Any other Mixed background
0.9%
2
Pakistani
0.9%
2
White and Black Caribbean
0.9%
2
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 10.9% 23 of 211 pupils
9.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 10.9%
Rossendale 22.6%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.5% 20 pupils
England 14.8% 5.3 pts below
EHC plans 1.4% 3 pupils
England 6.0% 4.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 10
Specific learning difficulty 5
Other difficulty or disability 2
Social, emotional & mental health 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 1
Hearing impairment 1

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

81.0% 20.6 pts above England
School 81.0%
Rossendale 54.9%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

81.0%

7.2 pts above England

School 81.0%
Rossendale 68.7%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

88.0%

17.7 pts above England

School 88.0%
Rossendale 65.8%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

88.0%

16.0 pts above England

School 88.0%
Rossendale 67.6%
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

3.53%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.69 pts lower than England
School 3.53%
Rossendale 5.51%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

4.37%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

11.44 pts lower than England
School 4.37%
Rossendale 12.84%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.55%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.26 pts lower than England
School 0.55%
Rossendale 1.46%
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

100.5% 12.3 pts above England
St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall
100.5%
Rossendale
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