St Luke's Catholic Primary School

St Luke's Catholic Primary School is a 214-pupil Roman Catholic primary in Prescot. This full section 5 inspection found the school meeting the expected standard across all evaluated areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are improving. Attendance is now in line with national figures, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and pupils feel safe and supported. The school serves a community with above-average free school meals eligibility and above-average location deprivation, and leaders use pupil premium funding effectively to reduce barriers. Strengths include a broad, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum; strong early reading and phonics; effective SEND and inclusion provision; and highly positive relationships with parents and staff. Governors provide robust support and challenge, and personal development is a clear strength, with pupils learning about safety, health, relationships, diversity and British values. However, provision is not yet consistently strong in all subjects. In some wider curriculum areas, teachers do not adapt teaching well enough to build on what pupils already know, and some staff lack the expertise to deepen pupils' understanding. Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities to extend children's responses and deepen learning. Leaders have appropriate plans in place to address these issues.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 is in line with national averages.
• Phonics outcomes are consistently above the national average and continue to improve.
• Multiplication tables check outcomes are consistently above average.
• Attendance is in line with national figures, and pupils with SEND attend very well.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful; bullying is rare and pupils trust staff to act quickly.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• SEND and inclusion provision is effective, with adapted resources and strong support from external professionals.
• Early years provision is well designed, with engaging indoor and outdoor learning and daily phonics.
• Leadership and governance are strong; governors provide robust support and challenge, and staff are proud and well supported.
• Personal development is effective, covering health, relationships, online safety, diversity and British values.
• Strong parent partnerships and effective use of pupil premium funding help disadvantaged pupils thrive.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' knowledge is not as secure in some subjects because teaching does not consistently build on what pupils already know.
• The precise knowledge and skills to be taught in some wider curriculum subjects need further refinement.
• Some teachers lack the subject expertise to deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding across subjects.
• Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities to build on children's responses and deepen learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils do not yet attain consistently well in all areas, though gaps are closing.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Luke's Catholic Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at St Luke's Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Luke's Catholic Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.0% of pupils at St Luke's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St Luke's Catholic Primary School received £7,431 and spent £7,350 for each of its 212 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £165,000 (£781 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Prescot · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

What is St Luke's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Luke's Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Luke's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Luke's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Luke's Catholic Primary School have?

St Luke's Catholic Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Luke's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Luke's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Luke's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Luke's Catholic Primary School?

St Luke's Catholic Primary School is at Shaw Lane, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 5AT.