OFSTED
9 July 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Requires improvement
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Primary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Local authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Trust
CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
203
159 full-time ·
44 part-time
Female pupils
107
52.7% of pupils
Male pupils
96
47.3% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
9.2 pts
above England
School
34.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
25.6%
North West
28.5%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
13.7 pts
above England
School
34.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
36.4%
North West
18.1%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
1.0 pts
below England
School
0.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
0.4%
North West
0.8%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
56.7%
115
Pakistani
16.3%
33
African
11.3%
23
Any other White background
4.4%
9
Any other Asian background
3.4%
7
Any other Mixed background
2.0%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
24.1%
49 of
203 pupils
3.3 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
3.9 pts
above
England
6.0%
0.6 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 2 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
EXPECTED STANDARD
Reading, writing & maths
37.0%
23.4 pts
below England
EXPECTED STANDARD
53.0%
Reading
20.8 pts below England
School
53.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
72.7%
North West
73.2%
England
73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD
47.0%
Writing
23.3 pts below England
School
47.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
69.6%
North West
69.2%
England
70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD
63.0%
Maths
9.0 pts below England
School
63.0%
Blackburn with Darwen
74.2%
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
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
7.48%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.26 pts
higher than
England
School
7.48%
Blackburn with Darwen
6.47%
North West
6.25%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
33.33%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
17.52 pts
higher than
England
School
33.33%
Blackburn with Darwen
17.93%
North West
15.89%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.77%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.97 pts
higher than
England
School
3.77%
Blackburn with Darwen
1.96%
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
76.6%
11.6 pts
below England
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
76.6%
Blackburn with Darwen
91.5%
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.