St James' Church of England Primary School
Off Stopes Brow, Lower Darwen, Darwen, BB3 0QPOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
St James' Church of England Primary School is a primary school in Darwen for ages 4 to 11. It is one of the 88 schools in Blackburn with Darwen. It ranks 9th of 14 primary schools in Darwen. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 29 October 2024, report published 8 December 2024
This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years provision
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 29 October 2024
Pupils, and children in the early years, love being members of this caring and friendly school. Their well-being is at the heart of all aspects of the school's work. Pupils know that staff are always there to talk to. They appreciate the many opportunities that they have to discuss their feelings, views and concerns. Through their roles as 'peer mentors', pupils help to look after the well-being of others at lunchtimes. Pupils unanimously said that the school is a happy and safe place to be. Pupils behave well. They benefit from a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons and around the school. Pupils value the rewards that they receive in recognition of their positive learning behaviours. This includes having 'tea at three' with staff. Pupils feel honoured to be members of the 'pupil voice groups'. They take their responsibilities seriously and are proud of the difference they make to the school and to the local community. For example, in their roles as 'courageous advocates', pupils raised money for charities. Pupils strive to live up to the school's high expectations for their personal and academic achievement. Pupils achieve well across a broad curriculum.
What the school should improve
- In some areas of learning in the early years, the curriculum is not broken down into the components of knowledge that children should learn. This makes it difficult for the school to ensure that the delivery of the curriculum helps pupils to build on previous learning. The school should continue its work to refine the early years curriculum so that it is clear how children's learning will build securely and will prepare them well for Year 1.
- In some subjects, the school's checks on how well pupils are learning are not as precise as they could be. This means that the school is not able to effectively evaluate the impact of the curriculum on pupils' progress, or to use the information gained from this to inform subsequent learning. The school should ensure that assessment systems enable staff to fully understand how well pupils are learning the curriculum across all subjects.
Exam results
SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25
28 pupils took the tests
Pupil numbers and mix
202 pupils on roll, with places for 210
Schools near St James' Church of England Primary School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Darwen Primary School | 0.4 miles | Ofsted: Good | 41% met the expected standard |
| Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn | 0.6 miles | Report card: Expected standard to strong standard | 79% met the expected standard |
| Longshaw Infant School | 0.8 miles | Report card: Expected standard to strong standard | Not published |
| Longshaw Community Junior School | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | 67% met the expected standard |
| Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary | 1 mile | Ofsted judgements: Outstanding | 85% met the expected standard |
School details
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Sector
- Local authority maintained
- Age range
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Nursery classes
- No
- Headteacher
- Miss Melissa Tindall
- Phone
- 01254698656
- Address
- Off Stopes Brow, Lower Darwen, Darwen, BB3 0QP
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- URN
- 119503
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.