Welcome To Darwen St James.

 

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Darwen St James. As a Church of England Academy and proud member of the Cidari Multi-Academy Trust, our vision and Christian values are at the heart of everything we do. They are not merely words on a page; they are lived out daily by our vibrant school family.

We are a welcoming, one-form entry academy supporting children from two years old through to 11 years old. Our friendly, approachable staff team operates an open-door policy, ensuring parents and carers always feel listened to and supported.

Active Learning & Active Uniform

At Darwen St James, we believe that children learn best when they are fully involved and moving. We have adopted an active learning style across all our lessons, ensuring pupils are up, active, and dynamically engaged in their education every single day. To fully support this dynamic approach, we adapted our school uniform to an Active Uniform from 2026—ensuring our pupils are comfortable, practical, and ready to move, explore, and learn without restriction.

Together with a Growth Mindset framework, we teach our pupils to embrace challenges, build resilience, and take positive risks in everything they do.

Curriculum & Enriched Experiences

We deliver a broad, balanced curriculum taught through discrete subjects to ensure thorough, deep learning. In the Early Years (EYFS), lessons are heavily inspired by the children's own interests. Across all year groups, our goal is simple: to prepare every child for the next stage of their education while sparking ambition for future careers and demonstrating the true purpose of lifelong learning.

Learning at DSJ extends far beyond the traditional classroom:

  • Outdoor Learning & Forest School: We fully embrace outdoor education and are actively developing our very own Forest School area, giving pupils hands-on opportunities to explore, build, and connect with nature.
  • Extracurricular Clubs & Sport: We run a wide variety of after-school clubs to nurture every interest. We also offer a broad range of sports, giving our pupils regular opportunities to represent DSJ in inter-school competitions and tournaments.
  • Trips & Visitors: Regular visits and guest speakers bring the curriculum to life.
  • Adventurous Residential: Our annual Year 6 residential features canoeing, archery, climbing, zip-lining, and raft building.
  • Curriculum Days & Challenge Mornings: Every half term, whole-school challenge mornings test perseverance, teamwork, and risk-taking using key Growth Mindset language.

Nurture, Wellbeing, & Pupil Voice

Nurture and wellbeing form the bedrock of our ethos. We are fortunate to have a dedicated Pupil Wellbeing Coordinator and Assistant who work tirelessly with families, children, and external agencies to ensure robust safeguarding. Dedicated timetable slots—beyond standard PSHE—focus on wellbeing, citizenship, and entrepreneurship, alongside a dedicated Nurture Room for targeted individual and group support.

We also believe every child deserves a voice. Our democratically elected Academy Council and Worship Team help shape school life, evaluating collective worship, organising community outreach, and leading charitable initiatives.

Everyday Excellence

  • Celebration: We celebrate success in all its forms—academic achievement, manners, perseverance, and outside-of-school talents—during our popular weekly assembly, which parents and carers are warmly invited to attend.
  • Wraparound Care & Meals: We provide a free Breakfast Club for all pupils from Reception to Year 6 (with Nursery enjoying their own dedicated snack time). Delicious, high-quality hot and cold lunches are freshly prepared by Aspdens, complete with salad, fruit bars, and options for all dietary needs.

I invite you to explore our website to discover more about life at Darwen St James. If you would like to arrange a visit or have any questions, please contact our school office on 01254 703260. We look forward to meeting you!

Miss Laura Peckson

Headteacher