St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen
Limes Avenue, Darwen, BB3 2SG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Leanne Brown
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 165
- URN
- 119667
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254706264
About this school
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Darwen. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 165 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 January 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 20 | 23 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 48% | 40% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 55% | 70% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 50% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 55% | 55% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 105.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Blackburn with Darwen average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48% | 57.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 57.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 181 |
| 2023/24 | 177 |
| 2024/25 | 161 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen compares
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen ranked 15th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 5% | 16.8% | 165 | — |
| Holy Trinity VC School | 62% | 7% | 58.7% | 119 | 0.4 miles |
| Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 43% | 6.2% | 33.9% | 240 | 0.6 miles |
| Ashleigh Primary School | 66% | 3.9% | 15.1% | 220 | 0.6 miles |
| Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary | 64% | 7.9% | 45.6% | 167 | 0.7 miles |
| Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy | 65% | 3.7% | 10.2% | 207 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.77%
- English as an additional language
- 1.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.03%
- Persistent absence
- 15.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Trinity VC School0.4 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Ashleigh Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary0.7 miles
Primary · Darwen
-
Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Darwen
Other schools in Darwen
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen ranks 2nd of the 14 ranked primary schools in Darwen.
- Ashleigh Primary School Primary
- Avondale Primary School Primary
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary Primary
- Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity VC School Primary
- Lower Darwen Primary School Primary
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Edward's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen teach?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Darwen.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen is Mrs Leanne Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen has 165 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen full?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen has capacity for 210 pupils and 165 on roll (79%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 48% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen compare with other schools in Blackburn with Darwen?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen ranked 15th of 51 primary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.