Helmshore Primary School
Gregory Fold, Helmshore, Rossendale, BB4 4JW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Christine Myers
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 414
- Pupils on roll
- 397
- URN
- 119195
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706213756
About this school
Helmshore Primary School is a community primary school in Rossendale. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 397 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Helmshore Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 57 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 78% | 86% | 88% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 91% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 96% | 95% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 91% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Helmshore Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 78% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 86% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 88% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 408 |
| 2023/24 | 393 |
| 2024/25 | 385 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Helmshore Primary School compares
Helmshore Primary School ranked 16th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 88% | 3.5% | 7.3% | 397 | — |
| St Veronica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Helmshore | 81% | 3.4% | 8.5% | 150 | 0.2 miles |
| Haslingden Broadway Primary School | 48% | 4% | 11.9% | 207 | 0.5 miles |
| Haslingden Primary School | 58% | 5.1% | 39.4% | 372 | 0.9 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden | 71% | 3% | 18.6% | 139 | 1.2 miles |
| Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School | 52% | 6.7% | 36.1% | 204 | 1.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.27%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.49%
- Persistent absence
- 6.36%
Location
Nearby schools
- 0.2 miles
-
Haslingden Broadway Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
Haslingden Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden1.2 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Haslingden
Other schools in Rossendale
Helmshore Primary School ranks 1st of the 13 ranked primary schools in Rossendale.
- Crawshawbooth Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Broadway Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall Primary
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall Primary
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden Primary
- St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Newchurch Primary
- Water Primary School Primary
- Waterfoot Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Helmshore Primary School teach?
- Helmshore Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Rossendale.
- Who is the headteacher of Helmshore Primary School?
- The headteacher of Helmshore Primary School is Mrs Christine Myers, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Helmshore Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Helmshore Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Helmshore Primary School?
- Helmshore Primary School has 397 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Helmshore Primary School full?
- Helmshore Primary School has capacity for 414 pupils and 397 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Helmshore Primary School a faith school?
- No. Helmshore Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Helmshore Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Helmshore Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Helmshore Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 78% in 2022/23 and 88% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Helmshore Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Helmshore Primary School ranked 16th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Helmshore Primary School's absence rate?
- Helmshore Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Helmshore Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Helmshore Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.