St James' Church of England Primary School

St James’ Church of England Primary School is a caring and friendly school where pupils’ well-being is central. Inspectors found pupils, including children in the early years, are happy, feel safe and behave well in a calm and purposeful atmosphere. Pupils achieve well across a broad, rich curriculum, benefit from strong reading and phonics provision, and receive effective support for special educational needs and/or disabilities. Personal development is a notable strength, with pupils taking on meaningful responsibilities and enjoying a wide range of clubs and opportunities. The school is judged good in all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The report notes considerable leadership changes since the previous inspection and that this was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Governors are said to know the school well and to hold leaders to account effectively, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are in the early years curriculum and assessment. In some early years areas, the knowledge children should learn is not broken down precisely enough, making it harder to check that learning builds securely and prepares children well for Year 1. In a small number of subjects, checks on how well pupils are learning are not precise enough to evaluate the curriculum’s impact and inform subsequent learning.

Strengths

• Pupils’ well-being is at the heart of the school’s work.
• Pupils feel happy and safe and behave well in a calm, purposeful atmosphere.
• Pupils achieve well across a broad and engaging curriculum.
• The school identifies and meets the needs of pupils with SEND well.
• Reading and phonics are taught effectively, with strong support for pupils who need to catch up.
• Pupils are enthusiastic, confident learners who take pride in their work.
• The school has high expectations for attendance and uses effective strategies to improve it.
• Personal development is well supported through clubs, pupil voice groups and safety education.
• Governors know the school well and hold leaders to account effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some early years areas, the curriculum is not broken down into precise knowledge components, making it harder to ensure learning builds securely and prepares children for Year 1.
• In a small number of subjects, assessment checks are not precise enough to evaluate pupils’ progress and inform subsequent learning.

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 St James' Church of England Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% 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, 1.6% of pupils at St James' 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 St James' Church of England Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 13.4% of pupils at St James' Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.9% 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 St James' Church of England Primary School received £7,259 and spent £6,845 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £154,000 (£764 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 St James' Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James' Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was St James' Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St James' Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does St James' Church of England Primary School have?

St James' Church of England Primary School has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James' Church of England Primary School cover?

St James' Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St James' Church of England Primary School?

St James' Church of England Primary School is at Off Stopes Brow, Lower Darwen, Darwen, Lancashire, BB3 0QP.