Lower Pastures
Lower Pastures is an independent special school in Nr Darwen for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 3 pupils and room for 5.
Broadhead Road, Hoddlesden, Nr Darwen, BB3 3QP0793 124 9374roachesschool.netMrs Diane Wood headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 50% | 0% | 33% | 75% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 50% | 33% | 67% | 25% |
The area around the school
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.0 miles | 237 | No overall grade 2024 | 74 | Compare |
| Belthorn Academy Primary School | Academy | 1.8 miles | 238 | Good 2024 | 62 | Compare |
| Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary | Academy | 2.0 miles | 167 | Report card 2026 | 5 | Compare |
| Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.0 miles | 240 | Report card 2026 | 12 | Compare |
| Turncroft Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 2.1 miles | 58 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy | Academy | 2.1 miles | 207 | Good 2023 | 53 | Compare |
| Darwen Aldridge Community Academy | Academy | 2.3 miles | 1,036 | No overall grade 2025 | 9 | Compare |
| Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy | Academy | 2.3 miles | 203 | No overall grade 2025 | 3 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Lower Pastures a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Lower Pastures yet.
How many pupils does Lower Pastures have?
3 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 5 places, so it is 60% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Broadhead Road, Hoddlesden, Nr Darwen, BB3 3QP
- Telephone
- 0793 124 9374
- Website
- www.roachesschool.net
- Headteacher
- Mrs Diane Wood
- Type of school
- Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Ward
- West Pennine
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 23 November 2015 (new provision)
- URN
- 142531 · LAESTAB 8896014 · UKPRN 10073547
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.