When should a child begin to train, and why the old fear was wrong
Most parents think lifting weights is dangerous for children. Twenty years of paediatric consensus disagree, and the reason has more to do with the nervous system than with muscle.
Blackburn · Blackburn with Darwen
St Matthew's Church of England Primary School
Voluntary aided school · ages 4–11 · 271 pupils · Church of England
30% free school meals 100% English as an additional language (Year 6) 21% SEN support (Year 6)
Year 6 results
Reading, writing and maths
Share of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/25.
| Year | School | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41% | 60% | 60% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 62% | 61% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 63% | 63% |
| 3-year average | 49% |
38 pupils took the tests in 2025, so each child moves the school's result by about 3 percentage points. Results in small schools swing from year to year; the three-year average is steadier.
Average scaled scores in 2025: reading 105, maths 104 (100 is the expected standard). Higher standard in reading, writing and maths: 3%.
There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when the tests were cancelled. What do SATs scores mean?
Inspection
What Ofsted found
Report card published 02/03/2026. Ofsted grades each area on a five-point scale, from urgent improvement to exceptional.
| Inclusion | Needs attention |
| Curriculum and teaching | Expected standard |
| Achievement | Needs attention |
| Attendance and behaviour | Expected standard |
| Personal development and wellbeing | Expected standard |
| Early years | Needs attention |
| Leadership and governance | Needs attention |
| Safeguarding | Met |
The local area
Children in Blackburn with Darwen
| Measure | Blackburn with Darwen | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good level of development at the end of Reception 2024/25 lower | 65.2% | 68.3% |
| Phonics check met in Year 1 2024/25 similar | 78.9% | 79.8% |
| Year 6 children living with obesity 2024/25 similar | 23.8% | 22.2% |
| MMR two doses by age 5 2024/25 similar | 83.7% | 83.7% |
| Primary pupils persistently absent 2024/25 higher | 14.0% | 13.0% |
| Children in relative low-income families (under 16) 2024/25 higher | 36.2% | 19.8% |
“Higher” or “lower” means the difference from England is bigger than the margin of error; “similar” means it isn’t. These are figures for all children in the council area, not for any one school or child.