Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary is performing strongly overall, with leaders working above expected standards in several areas. It is a Church of England school in the Diocese of Blackburn that has undergone significant change since its last inspection, including a new headteacher and leadership team. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, behave well, and benefit from a calm, inclusive environment.

Strengths

• Highly skilled identification and support for pupils with SEND and additional needs
• Imaginative outdoor learning that builds self-esteem and confidence
• Strong personal development programme covering relationships, online safety, healthy lifestyles and British values
• Effective use of additional funding to improve disadvantaged pupils' experiences and attendance
• Pupils behave well and treat each other with respect in a calm, low-disruption environment
• Consistently applied behaviour policy with swift action on misbehaviour
• Broad enrichment opportunities including visitors, trips, clubs and leadership roles
• Nurturing early years provision that develops confidence, cooperation and a love of learning
• Well-designed curriculum with clear knowledge and vocabulary for each subject
• Effective support for pupils with barriers to learning, including social, emotional and mental health needs
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils that underpin good behaviour
• Proactive leaders who are well supported by governors and staff
• Open and positive culture of safeguarding

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not consistently identify and address common punctuation and spelling errors in pupils' written work
• Leaders do not analyse behaviour incidents well enough to identify patterns and trends to reduce misbehaviour over time
• In early years, letter formation and some basic spellings are not reinforced consistently
• Recent published outcomes in 2024/25 were below national averages in reading, mathematics and combined reading, writing and mathematics

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 3.1% of pupils at Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.4% of pupils at Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School received £7,843 and spent £7,568 for each of its 240 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £226,000 (£941 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darwen · Blackburn with Darwen local authority: places and applications

What is Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School have?

Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School has 240 pupils on roll.

What age range does Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School cover?

Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School?

Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School is at Turncroft Road, Darwen, Lancashire, BB3 2BW.