Sessional pre-school in Chapels, Blackburn with Darwen
Darwen Children's Centre
Lord Street, Darwen, BB3 0HD · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementGood
- SafeguardingEffective
What does this mean?
This grade is from before November 2025, when Ofsted replaced single grades with report cards. The nursery's next inspection will give a report card, with a separate grade for each area instead of one overall grade.
Official records
- Ofsted registrationRegistered since February 2003Reference EY246291Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Inspections on record1 inspectionlatest 3 June 2025Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Registered places56 placesthe most children it may care for at onceOfsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Food hygiene rating5 (Very good)inspected 13 February 2026Food Standards Agency · checked 13 November 2026
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
Thanks. We count every request and show the nursery how many parents are asking.
Estimate a monthly cost with the council area's typical day rate
Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
Lord Street, Darwen, BB3 0HD · More nurseries in BB3
Stations
- Darwen5 min walk · 0.2 miles
Buses
15 bus stops within 400 m, including Cotton Hall Street, Exchange Street and Chapels Brow.
Parks and playgrounds
- Shorey Bank3 min walk
- Playground1 min walk
- Playground4 min walk
- Playground4 min walk
- Playground5 min walk
- Playground9 min walk
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026 · © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 13 November 2026. Walking times are rough, from straight-line distance.
Places and next steps
Spaces: not published yet. Nurseries often fill months ahead, so ask early.
In Blackburn with Darwen there are about 3.3 children under 5 for every registered nursery place. Places are how many children nurseries may care for, not free spaces, so this is a guide to demand. Source: ONS Census 2021.
What parents say
Reviews on Toddly
Be the first parent to review Darwen Children's Centre
Reviews come from parents who sign in, and a person reads each one before it goes live. How reviews work
Write a reviewAbout Darwen Children's Centre
Darwen Children's Centre is a sessional pre-school at Lord Street, Darwen, BB3 0HD, in Chapels, Blackburn with Darwen. It is registered for 56 children. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection in June 2025, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 4.5 from 6 reviews (November 2026). It is run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.
Run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (local council), which runs 6 nurseries.
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darwen Children's CentreThis nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Kidzania Childcare DarwenFull-day nursery | Report card 2026 | not shared yet | 07:30–18:00 | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| Rainbow ChildcareFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Marshmallows Day NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Precious Moments Childcare (Darwen) ltd.Full-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | 07:00–18:00 | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
| PALS-Darwen St Joseph's Primary SchoolFull-day nursery | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.7 miles |
| Ark Les Enfants Nursery and Forest SchoolFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | 07:30–17:45 | not shared yet | 0.8 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Primaryages 3–11has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Requires improvement; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Requires improvementinspected July 2025 0.2 miles
- Holy Trinity VC School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Quality of education: Requires improvement; Behaviour and attitudes: Requires improvement; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Requires improvementinspected March 2025 0.4 miles
- Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Report cardinspected March 2026 0.5 miles
- Avondale Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: School remains Goodinspected July 2023 0.6 miles
- Turncroft Nursery School Nurseryages 3–4has a nursery classOfsted: Standards maintainedinspected May 2025 0.6 miles
- Crosshill Special School ages 5–18Ofsted: Goodinspected November 2021 0.7 miles
- Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Report cardinspected May 2026 0.7 miles
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Standards maintainedinspected January 2025 0.8 miles
Straight-line distances. Places depend on each school's admissions rules. From the Department for Education and Ofsted.
Questions parents ask
Got a question? Ask and get an answer straight away.
What is Darwen Children's Centre's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Darwen Children's Centre Good at its inspection on 3 June 2025, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can Darwen Children's Centre take?
Darwen Children's Centre is registered with Ofsted for up to 56 children at any one time.
Who runs Darwen Children's Centre?
Darwen Children's Centre is run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, which runs 6 nurseries.
What is the nearest station to Darwen Children's Centre?
Darwen is the nearest station we know of, 0.2 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact Darwen Children's Centre?
You can call 01254 585000.
Tools for parents in Blackburn with Darwen
- Childcare cost calculatorMonthly cost with funded hours
- Funded hours checkerWhich schemes you qualify for
- Funded hours start dateWhen your child's hours begin
- Tax-Free Childcare calculatorThe 20% top-up on your bill
- Visit checklist for this nurseryPrintable questions, pre-filled
- Cost of nursery in Blackburn with DarwenFees by age in Blackburn with Darwen
About this information
- Registration and inspections: Ofsted · 30 June 2026
- Rating and review themes: Google · 13 November 2026
- Schools: DfE Get Information about Schools · 4 November 2026
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Department for Education data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Contains Department for Transport NaPTAN data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Food hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Read reviews on Google
Last checked 13 November 2026 · Ofsted URN EY246291 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
Is this your nursery? Claim it free to correct details, add photos and answer parents' questions.
Claim it free