Saint Anne’s Centre of Excellence

June 25, 2026

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Saint Anne’s Roman Catholic Primary School is a single-form primary school situated in the town centre of Blackburn. The school serves a vibrant and diverse community with high levels of mobility that faces significant deprivation. St Anne’s has taken a positive approach to supporting local families. There is an unwavering commitment to meeting the individualised needs of every pupil, and a desire to nurture the whole child, emotionally, socially, physically and spiritually, within a safe and supportive environment. The school promotes an ethos of compassion, fairness, dignity and non-judgement rooted in Christian faith. High-quality teaching, early identification of need and carefully planned interventions ensure that pupils receive personalised support and appropriate challenge. Staff share a collective belief in the entitlement of every child, regardless of background, starting point or additional need to access an ambitious, high-quality curriculum.

Inclusive provision is significantly enhanced through strong collaborative work with external partners, ensuring a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach. The school engages proactively with a wide range of professionals, specialists and community organisations to ensure that support is timely, tailored and impactful. Kindness and community are embedded into all parts of school life and staff work to support families outside of school and provide opportunities to gather as a community for coffee mornings, festivals, and charitable initiatives.

Inclusion in everything

The inclusion values of St Anne’s R.C. Primary School are clearly lived out across the whole community. The school works hard to foster a positive culture of dignity, tolerance, and peace, with every single individual being valued. This is reinforced through teaching and displays around the school. Pupils with additional needs are fully involved in activities such as assemblies, with each child being encouraged to contribute in a way that reflects their individual skills. Weekly Picture News sessions are used to deepen understanding of protected characteristics and of the wider world.

Safeguarding is central to all practice at the school. Pupils and families are supported by the safeguarding lead, who carries out home visits and builds very strong relationships with parents and carers.

Staff serve as strong models for inclusion, demonstrating a deep understanding of the school-wide inclusive mission. They take responsibility for meeting the needs of all learners within their class.  Teaching and support are consistently tailored to ensure access to the curriculum and strong progress for all pupils. Staff make effective use of evidence‑informed strategies, work closely with colleagues and specialists, and engage proactively with parents and carers.

A strong curriculum

Saint Anne’s Roman Catholic Primary School has newly-developed a curriculum ensuring that wider opportunities are meaningfully integrated into all stages of learning. There is a focus on addressing the needs of every pupil and addressing any gaps in learning to ensure that teaching is fully inclusive, and adaptive. Higher-attaining pupils might be challenged more, while additional scaffolding is available for those who require it. St Anne’s has a clear commitment to making the lives of pupils, families and the wider community better. The goal is “making tomorrow a better day” – shaped by the unique backgrounds and experiences of the child. They aim to equip pupils with knowledge, skills and values to help them now and in the future.

An inclusive environment

The school consistently delivers Quality First Teaching, with lessons that are well-organised, purposeful and responsive to the diverse needs of learners. Learning environments are nurturing, well organised and designed to promote independence. There is a combination of content-rich instruction and opportunities for discussion, with a mixture of guided practice and independent work. Teachers use clear modelling, structured questioning and tasks to promote learning. The consistency of this approach ensures that pupils, including those with English as an Additional Language and SEND. Staff regularly analyse learning, and address misconceptions within a supportive environment.

We are very happy to award Saint Anne’s Roman Catholic Primary Centre of Excellence status.