School Chooser

Griffin Park Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil232 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubBlackburnBlackburn with Darwen
School Chooser Score
58
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 33 to 79
Out of 100. Better than 66% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, May 2022
Reached the expected level at 1175%England 63%
Attendance94.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families23%A bit fewer than most schools
PlacesFull232 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher21.9School workforce census

Griffin Park Primary School is a council school in Blackburn for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 232 pupils, 22 more than it has places for. About 23 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 58 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 66% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Cavendish Place, Blackburn, BB2 2PN0125457724griffinparkprimary.co.ukMr David Chapman headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 May 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

28 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1175%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level4%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 50%50%20172018: 75%75%20182019: 67%67%20192023: 47%47%20232024: 71%71%20242025: 75%75%2025
Since 2017: +25%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Blackburn with DarwenEngland
Pupils tested282830302830
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths75%71%47%67%75%50%61%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths4%4%0%3%18%0%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0104.0101.0103.0106.0101.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0104.0101.0103.0104.099.0104.4104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0106.0102.0104.0104.0104.0105.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%71%53%73%86%67%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard89%79%77%87%79%57%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)79%75%73%87%75%87%
Reading progressReading progress score-2.5-0.5+2.7-3.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.5-1.2+2.0-5.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged73%59%25%54%70%38%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged76%91%61%76%78%64%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
73%76%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
86%64%
Gap 22 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
50%75%
Gap 25 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%4%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full207 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
99% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Blackburn with Darwen council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll232Census January 2026
Places210110% full
Pupils from low-income families23%23% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English35%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support19%45 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%6 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.77 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils14%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)27%£85,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls110 / 122
White British pupils47%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (25), emotional and mental health (11), Specific learning difficulty (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Physical disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll232234228222227225
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals23%25%29%31%31%31%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language35%33%29%22%21%18%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%17%21%18%22%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.9%8.9%7.3%8.5%6.6%5.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.0%6.4%5.0%6.3%3.3%3.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.9%2.5%2.3%2.2%3.3%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.4%34.9%21.2%32.3%21.3%15.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.01.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers10.6full-time equivalent, 11 people
Pupils per teacher21.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,108
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.32024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,730England £7,738. Total £1.6m
Income per pupil£6,646England £7,697. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,081England £3,480
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £140k, £597 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£19kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,730spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m71512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate170 per 1,000 people86% higher than the England average
Typical house price£169,000Blackburn with Darwen
Nearest bus stop40 mLansdowne Street, 30 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, BlackburnRoman Catholic510 m408No overall grade 202438Compare
St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy610 m202No overall grade 20248Compare
St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England AcademyAcademy710 m182No overall grade 20257Compare
Wensley Fold CofE Primary AcademyAcademy860 m463Outstanding 202392Compare
St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolChurch of England950 m419Good 202476Compare
Meadowhead Community Infant School and NurseryCouncil0.7 miles169Good 202223Compare
St Silas's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles311Good 202324Compare
St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnRoman Catholic0.8 miles214Report card 202628Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Griffin Park Primary School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats66%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 58 is 14 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 8 · middle 45 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Griffin Park Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic13.8 miles236No overall grade 202489Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 58 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 58% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 33 to 79. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.05
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 28 pupils
Ofsted inspection17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 4.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.07
DfE progress measure; 28 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.23
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.01
2024/25; 185 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
-0.02
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 28 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Griffin Park Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Griffin Park Primary School scores 58 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 66% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 33 to 79, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is Griffin Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Griffin Park Primary School good at its last full inspection on 17 May 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are Griffin Park Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 75% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 4% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Griffin Park Primary School have?

232 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 110% full.

Is Griffin Park Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Griffin Park Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Griffin Park Primary School?

The average class had 29.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Griffin Park Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Cavendish Place, Blackburn, BB2 2PN
Telephone
0125457724
Website
www.griffinparkprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr David Chapman
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Ward
Mill Hill & Moorgate
Constituency
Blackburn
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
119116 · LAESTAB 8892001 · UKPRN 10076222

Where these figures come from