St James' Church of England Primary School
Primary · Darwen · BB3 0QP
Data updated
SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection
We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →
Inspected 29 October 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
202 pupils · 96% of 210 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Age range
- 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Free school meals
- 25.2% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 19.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 11.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 5.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.stjameslowerdarwen.co.uk
- URN
- 119503
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 31 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.03 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.917 miles, the only Reception round we hold for it. At its inspection on 29 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
1.03 first-choice applications per place30 places offered · 31 first-choice applications · oversubscribed
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 0.917 miles for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Reception
Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.917 miles
measurement method not stated by the council.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Blackburn with Darwen school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
28 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Schools with a similar intake
Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025
On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.
They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 76% (Blackburn with Darwen 39%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 16% (Blackburn with Darwen 16%, England 4%) · Any other White background 4% (Blackburn with Darwen 3%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Blackburn with Darwen 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Blackburn with Darwen 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 3%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
3.66 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Blackburn with Darwen: 2.20 suspensions and 0.05 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 12% moved to another state school
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
30% of teachers took sickness absence, 34.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £53,091; 22.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 8% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £154,375; in-year balance +£83,459
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 29 October 2024: Good
- 25 September 2019: Section 8 inspections of good and non-exempt outstanding schools
- 17 November 2015: Yes - improving (good)
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 8/10less deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 31.9% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 11.8% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 36.1% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 10.4% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 53.9% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 83.6% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 0.6% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 15.8% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 30.9% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 2.3% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 17.5% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 9.1% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01012602 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £210,000227 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £138,500–£258,500the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 4an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 13an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1an urban school averages 6.1
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted