St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community

St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Primary School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school. The leadership has high expectations for all pupils, fostering a warm and inclusive community where learners are encouraged to be resilient and successful. The curriculum is ambitious, particularly for early years and disadvantaged pupils, and staff are well-trained to deliver it effectively. Parents express strong support for the school, which is reflected in the positive environment where pupils feel happy and safe.

Strengths

• The school has a strong commitment to creating happy and resilient learners.
• Leaders set high expectations for all students, including those with SEND.
• The curriculum is well-structured, building on previous learning effectively.
• Teachers are trained to deliver the curriculum as intended and identify misconceptions.
• Pupils display mature attitudes towards learning and behave well.
• The school offers a variety of extracurricular activities and experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough, affecting their learning.
• A small number of pupils are struggling with blending sounds in the new phonics programme.
• Not all teachers effectively check students' prior learning in some subjects.

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 Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.9% 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, 1.4% of pupils at St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community 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 Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 21.8% of pupils at St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community received £6,907 and spent £7,108 for each of its 226 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £5,000 (-£21 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 Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community last inspected by Ofsted?

St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community have?

St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community cover?

St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community?

St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community is at Lickers Lane, Whiston, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 3SR.