St Stephen's Church of England Primary School, Blackburn

Ofsted's report card from its 28 April 2026 inspection grades St Stephen's Church of England Primary School on 7 areas: 3 expected standard, 3 needs attention and 1 urgent improvement. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Early years - Expected standard. "Kind and caring staff warmly welcome children into the Reception class each day."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Staff quickly spot any pupils with additional needs."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a carefully considered programme to support pupils' personal development."

Achievement - Needs attention. "In some subjects across the wider curriculum, pupils do not develop a secure body of knowledge over time."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Leaders have not fully addressed the previous area for improvement related to the design of the curriculums in some subjects."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders have not ensured that the design of the curriculum in some subjects supports pupils to learn important knowledge and to use subject-specific vocabulary effectively."

Attendance and behaviour - Urgent improvement. "Leaders have not ensured that there is a culture where bullying is addressed quickly or effectively."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Governors and leaders should develop a culture where parents, carers and pupils are confident that incidents of bullying and behaviour are dealt with swiftly and effectively. They should ensure that pupils consistently behave well and that behaviour sanctions are used appropriately"; "Leaders should review their curriculum content in some subjects so that the most important key concepts and vocabulary are clearly identified. They should ensure that the wider curriculum enables pupils to achieve consistently well"; "Leaders should ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to teach curriculum subjects consistently well. They should ensure that the checks that staff make on pupils' learning support them to achieve as well as they should"; "Governors should ensure that they have an informed and accurate understanding of stakeholders' views and use this information to build positive relationships and to support and challenge all aspects of the school's work effectively".

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a friendly school where inclusion and Christian values underpin all that we do and it is our aim to ensure all pupils are given the opportunity to develop academically, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually with a positive mental well-being."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, athletics, basketball, multi-sports, choir, gardening, debating, book club and forest school.

The school runs a breakfast club, from £1.00 per day.

Coming up: an open day on Tuesday 17 November 2026 and an open day on Thursday 19 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils at St Stephen's Church of England Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 88% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 76% in Blackburn with Darwen and 77% and 75% across England.

Results were similar in 2024 (78% in reading, 86% in maths).

For September 2026 entry, 46 families put St Stephen's Church of England Primary School as their first choice and 76 named it as one of their preferences, for 49 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to St Stephen's Church of England Primary School are Daisyfield Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 95% reading, 85% maths); Brookhouse Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 93% reading, 97% maths); Cedars Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 83% reading, 93% maths); and St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn (0.6 miles, Requires improvement, 72% reading, 66% maths).

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

53.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Blackburn Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Rydal Road (by), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Stephen's Church of England Primary School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

St Stephen's Church of England Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.

The secondary schools closest to St Stephen's Church of England Primary School are Pleckgate High School (1.1 miles); and Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy (1.3 miles).