Schools by area › Blackburn with Darwen › Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy
Primary · Mixed · Ages 3–11 · Academy
St James Crescent, Darwen BB3 0EY · darwenstjames.co.uk · 01254 703260
Overview
- Ofsted
- No overall grade
- 2019 framework · inspected Jul 2025
- Key stage 2, 2024/25
- 37%
- reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Blackburn with Darwen 63%, England 62%
- Demand for places
- 1.0
- first choices for each place · Reception, September 2026
- Pupils
- 203
- 77% of 265 places
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Nursery class
- Yes
- Free school meals
- 41.5%
- First language not English
- 34%
- School census 2025/26
The official school record (Department for Education)
Admissions
For Reception in September 2026, 28 families put the school first and 29 places were offered; 100% of those families were offered a place there. Admission depends on the school’s own rules.
First choices against places
| Reception | Places | First choices | Per place | % offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026Sept 2026 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 100% |
| September 2025Sept 2025 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 100% |
| September 2024Sept 2024 | 25 | 25 | 1 | 100% |
| September 2023Sept 2023 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 100% |
| September 2022Sept 2022 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 100% |
Results
In 2024/25, 37% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2, and 0% the higher standard. Across Blackburn with Darwen it was 63%, and across England 62%.
Expected standard reading, writing and maths
| 2024/25 | Trend | School | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading, writing and maths | |||
| ▼37% | 62% | ||
| ▼0% | 8% | ||
| Average scaled score | |||
| ▼99 | 106 | ||
| ▼100 | 105 | ||
| ▼99 | 105 | ||
Ofsted
Ofsted inspected Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy on 9 July 2025 under its 2019 framework. Inspections from September 2024 give no overall grade.
- Overall
- No overall grade
- Inspected
- 9 Jul 2025
- Graded inspection
Safeguarding effectiveInspection reports
Graded areas
| Quality of education | Requires improvement |
|---|---|
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Requires improvement |
| Early years | Good |
Previously: Inadequate, graded inspection, Feb 2023
Earlier inspections
September 2019 to November 2025
- Nov 2024Monitoring visitEffective action
- Apr 2024Monitoring visitEffective action
Feb 2023Inadequate
Quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Inadequate Early years Requires improvement Safeguarding Effective
Before September 2019
Oct 2017Monitoring visit
Safeguarding Effective Dec 2011Good
Outcomes for pupils Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Leadership and management Good Early years Requires improvement Jan 2009Good
Outcomes for pupils Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Leadership and management Good Early years Requires improvement
What parents said
50% of the parents who answered Ofsted’s Parent View survey would recommend the school (16 replies, to 1 September 2025).
- Recommend
- 50%
- Replies
- 16
- 8% · 1 Sept 2025
based on the 81% who raised concerns
based on the 69% who had a child bullied