Lammack Primary School Review 2026: Oracy-led learning in a large Blackburn primary

A large, oversubscribed community primary with a clear emphasis on speaking and listening, positioned by the school as an Oracy Centre of Excellence. With places in demand, it is a school that suits families who want a busy, structured setting, with plenty of scope for pupil responsibility and enrichment beyond lessons. In the most recent published inspection outcome (report published 28 November 2022), Ofsted confirmed the school continues to be Good.

Leadership is stable. Mrs Paula Duckworth has led the school for years, initially as Acting Head Teacher in 2014, then as substantive Head Teacher from June 2016.

Scale matters here. With a capacity listed as 530 pupils, the feel is closer to a “big primary” than a small neighbourhood school, and that changes daily life. There is a wider social mix within year groups and more opportunities to run activity groups, pupil roles, and varied clubs. It also means busier drop off routines and a stronger need for routines that keep corridors, lunches, and playtimes calm and predictable.

The tone described in formal external reporting is reassuring. Relationships between pupils and staff are warm, pupils feel safe, and behaviour is consistently polite and respectful. Older pupils take on visible responsibility, including roles such as play leaders or prefects, and reading ambassadors who help promote reading across the school. For parents, these are practical signals. You are likely to see clear expectations, consistent adult presence, and a culture where children are expected to look after each other, not just themselves.

Values are presented as a whole-school common language, chosen by vote and then used across the curriculum. The school’s motto is “Every Child Matters, Every Day Counts”. Alongside that, the published values list is: Devotion, Determination, Honesty, Teamwork, Respect, and Creativity. The implication is a behaviour and rewards system built around shared vocabulary, which often helps children understand what “good choices” look like in real scenarios, not just in abstract rules.

The head’s profile also shapes the feel. Mrs Duckworth describes a long tenure at the school across multiple roles, and notes subject specialisms in Music and English. In day-to-day terms, that often shows up in strong attention to language, performance, assemblies, and a higher profile for music-making than in many similarly sized primaries.

The headline picture is strong, especially for combined outcomes at the end of primary.

In 2024, 86% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined. England’s average was 62%, so the school sits well above the national picture on this key benchmark. At the higher standard, 22.67% achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%. Reading and mathematics scaled scores were also above typical national benchmarks (reading 107; mathematics 106), alongside a grammar, punctuation and spelling scaled score of 110.

Rankings reinforce that story. Lammack Primary School is ranked 2,344th in England and 8th in Blackburn for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), placing it comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England.

For parents, the practical implication is that many pupils are leaving Year 6 with secure basics and a meaningful proportion pushing beyond the expected standard. That tends to make transition to Year 7 easier, particularly in reading comprehension, writing stamina, and maths fluency.

If you are comparing several local primaries, the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool can help you view these outcomes side-by-side, using consistent definitions across schools.

The school describes a topic-based curriculum that aims to build vocabulary, language and understanding through theme-led learning, while still reflecting the National Curriculum expectations. This can work well for children who learn best when subjects connect, for example when history, reading, and writing tasks sit inside one shared topic rather than feeling like separate “blocks” of learning.

Oracy is positioned as a defining feature. The school explicitly links its identity to speaking and listening, with an emphasis on developing confidence, articulating viewpoints, and valuing pupil voice. In practice, families should expect more structured talk in lessons, more emphasis on explanation, and more opportunities for children to present ideas, not simply complete worksheets. This often benefits children who are developing English fluency, as well as those who need deliberate practice in structuring thoughts before writing.

Reading is treated as an all-through priority. The external inspection narrative describes a school-wide love of reading that begins in the early years and develops into fluent, confident reading by the end of primary for most pupils. The phonics approach is described as carefully planned and supported by staff training. For parents, this tends to mean consistent phonics routines, clear book progression, and a stronger chance that early reading gaps are caught quickly.

As a Blackburn with Darwen primary, most pupils move on to local secondary schools, and the school explicitly considers preparation for the next stage as part of its wider curriculum intent. The inspection narrative notes pupils are well prepared for secondary school, and that wider experiences, visitors, and partnerships help broaden understanding of modern Britain alongside academic learning.

Practical transition support is also referenced in school-facing materials, including visits from local high school staff as part of preparation for Year 7. For families, that matters because transition success is usually driven by routines, independence, organisation, and social confidence as much as by grades.

If your child is likely to apply for a specific secondary route (for example a school with particular faith criteria or a selective route), it is worth checking how that interacts with your timeline. This primary will give a solid academic base, but specialist secondary admissions requirements and deadlines sit outside the primary’s control, so families often plan those separately.

This is a state community primary, so there are no tuition fees. Admissions are handled through Blackburn with Darwen’s coordinated admissions process rather than direct selection by the school. The school’s own admissions page directs families to apply through the local authority route and notes that offers are typically communicated in March or April.

Demand is real. For the primary entry route, 221 applications were made for 89 offers, with the school recorded as oversubscribed. Put simply, there were about 2.48 applications for each offered place. First-preference demand was also higher than offers, with a first-preference ratio of 1.06. These figures indicate that even being a first choice does not guarantee a place.

For September 2026 Reception entry, key local-authority dates are published as:

• Closing date for applications: 15 January 2026.

• National offer day for Blackburn with Darwen primary places: 16 April 2026.

There is no verified “last distance offered” figure available for this school, so families should avoid relying on rough proximity assumptions. If you are shortlisting, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check your exact home-to-school distance and then compare it with the local authority’s published allocation approach for community primaries.

The safeguarding culture is described as organised and effective, with clear processes and regular staff training. That matters less as a headline and more as a daily reality, it usually correlates with consistent recording of concerns, appropriate escalation, and staff confidence in dealing with issues quickly.

Wellbeing also shows up in how responsibility and belonging are structured. Roles such as play leaders, prefects, and reading ambassadors help older pupils practise leadership and give younger pupils visible role models. For many children, especially in a large school, these structures reduce social drift and help children feel known.

The school also references health-related support in its published materials, including examples of staff helping families manage medical needs during the school day. For parents of children with medical plans, this is a prompt to ask practical questions early, how medicines are administered, how staff communicate with home, and how absence is handled during longer periods of ill health.

A large school can offer breadth, but the most useful question for parents is whether enrichment is routine or occasional. Here, enrichment is described as both planned and varied: trips, visitors, responsibility roles, sport, and clubs.

Enrichment through trips and real experiences

Topic learning is supported by launch days, visits, and visitors. The prospectus lists trips such as Chester Zoo, Eureka Museum, Pendle Witches (Pendle Hill), and Houghton Tower. The implication is that learning is regularly anchored in memorable shared experiences, which tends to help vocabulary, writing quality, and background knowledge.

Year 6 has a clear highlight, an outdoor pursuits residential at Borwick Hall near Lancaster, with activities such as raft building, canoeing, low ropes, and team-building tasks. For many pupils, this is where independence grows quickly, managing kit, following instructions in unfamiliar settings, and learning to persist through challenge.

Sport and physical development

The school describes two physical education sessions per week, with Year 4 swimming for an hour per week. Facilities referenced include multiple outdoor areas, including a multi-use games area (MUGA), a wildlife area, playgrounds, and a large field. The practical benefit is more space for structured sport, calmer playtimes, and more options for outdoor learning throughout the year.

Music as a genuine strand

Music is presented as more than a “nice extra”. The prospectus describes a “Wider Opportunity” approach where children learn an instrument for a year, with examples including ukulele, brass instruments, or drums. That tends to build ensemble discipline and confidence, and often feeds into clubs such as singing or recorder.

Named clubs and pupil roles

The inspection report references debating, art and football clubs, and also notes pupils’ enthusiasm for enrichment being reintroduced after the pandemic period. The prospectus expands this into a broader list, including football, art, running, badminton, dance, singing, boccia, netball, recorder, construction, and School Council. It also notes some externally provided clubs that may carry an additional charge (examples given include dodgeball and handball).

For families, the key implication is choice. Children who want to perform, compete, build, or lead will usually find something that fits, and in a large school, there is often more flexibility to try and switch rather than being locked into one narrow set of activities.

Eco and citizenship

The school’s Eco strand is unusually specific. Pupils can be voted in as Eco Warriors each academic year and take on practical jobs such as recycling used pens, planting and maintaining trees and plants, and recycling batteries. This is the sort of pupil responsibility that can help children feel ownership of the environment, not just comply with instructions.

School hours are published as 8.50am to 3.00pm. Wraparound care is also clearly set out: Breakfast Club runs 7.45am to 8.45am, and an After School Club runs 3.00pm to 4.00pm for children of working parents.

Transport and daily logistics matter for a large primary. The school is in the Lammack area of Blackburn, so families typically plan around walkability, car drop-off routines, and timing around clubs. If you are balancing multiple schools, it is worth mapping your realistic morning route and factoring in pick-up constraints if your child attends clubs or wraparound.

• Competition for places. With 221 applications for 89 offers on the primary entry route, demand is high. Families should treat application planning as time-sensitive, not a last-minute formality.

• Large-school experience. A bigger setting brings more clubs, roles, and social breadth, but it can also feel busy for children who prefer quieter routines. It is worth checking how your child responds to noise, transitions, and crowded playtimes.

• Curriculum consistency in a few subjects. External evaluation notes that in a small number of subjects, teachers do not revisit prior learning frequently enough, which can affect long-term recall. For some children, that means home practice and recap can make a bigger difference than parents expect.

• Wraparound finishes at 4.00pm. Breakfast and after-school care exist, but the after-school window is shorter than at some primaries. Families with later work patterns may need an additional plan.

Lammack Primary School combines strong outcomes with a clear identity around oracy, pupil responsibility, and enrichment. It suits families who want a structured, high-expectations primary where children can join clubs, take leadership roles, and learn through trips and themed curriculum work, all within a large and busy school community. The main constraint is admission rather than school quality, so families should plan early, keep deadlines front of mind, and short-list realistic alternatives.