Crosshill Special School
Salisbury Road, Darwen, BB3 1HZ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 5 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- OAK LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Miss Nicola Pemberton
- Sponsor
- Oak Learning Partnership
- SEN provision
- MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 185
- Pupils on roll
- 183
- URN
- 146899
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254667713
About this school
Crosshill Special School is a special academy in Darwen. It teaches children aged 5 to 18 and has 183 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Crosshill Special School, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 4 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - |
| Expected standard in reading | - |
| Expected standard in maths | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 14 | 16 | 23 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Crosshill Special School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 106 |
| 2023/24 | 134 |
| 2024/25 | 175 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50.32%
- English as an additional language
- 28.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.9%
- Persistent absence
- 33.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Eden School1.5 miles
Free Schools · Blackburn
-
The Heights Blackburn1.5 miles
Free Schools · Blackburn
-
Aurora Woodlands School1.7 miles
Special schools · Lancashire
-
Markazul Uloom2.2 miles
Independent schools · Blackburn
-
Noorul Uloom2.2 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Darwen
- Turncroft Nursery School Nursery
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Crosshill Special School teach?
- Crosshill Special School teaches children aged 5 to 18. It is a special school in Darwen.
- Who is the headteacher of Crosshill Special School?
- The headteacher of Crosshill Special School is Miss Nicola Pemberton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Crosshill Special School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Crosshill Special School, 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 Crosshill Special School?
- Crosshill Special School has 183 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 18.
- Is Crosshill Special School full?
- Crosshill Special School has capacity for 185 pupils and 183 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Crosshill Special School a faith school?
- No. Crosshill Special School has no designated religious character.
- Is Crosshill Special School part of an academy trust?
- Crosshill Special School is part of OAK LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Crosshill Special School have?
- The schools register lists Crosshill Special School's special educational needs provision as: MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Crosshill Special School's absence rate?
- Crosshill Special School's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Crosshill Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Crosshill Special School'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 10 July 2026.