St Finbar's Catholic Primary School

St Finbar's Catholic Primary School is a small, diverse Catholic primary in Liverpool serving a community with high levels of disadvantage and a well-above-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Inspectors found the school meeting the expected standard across all areas, with safeguarding met. Pupils are happy, safe and behave well, and the school's inclusive, caring ethos is a notable strength. Early years provision and early reading are particularly effective, and pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils new to English are generally well supported. Pupils typically achieve close to national expectations in reading and mathematics, but writing has been weaker over time and combined reading, writing and mathematics outcomes are below national averages. Leaders have identified this and put an improvement plan in place, which is beginning to have a positive impact. Attendance has improved but some pupils are still absent too often, including through term-time holidays. Personal development is positive, though pupils would benefit from a wider range of experiences beyond school to deepen cultural awareness and extend talents and interests. Leadership and governance are strong. Leaders know the school well, set appropriate priorities and are well supported by governors. Staff benefit from effective professional development and attention to workload and wellbeing, and parents are highly supportive. The next steps are to continue strengthening foundational skills, especially writing, broaden pupils' experiences, and take robust action to reduce remaining absence.

Strengths

• Inclusive and caring ethos that welcomes pupils of all backgrounds and beliefs
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, with books closely matched to pupils' phonics knowledge
• Early years provision gives children a positive start and strong support for language and vocabulary
• Pupils behave well, feel safe and build positive relationships with staff and each other
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils new to English
• Strong leadership and governance with clear priorities and effective oversight
• Comprehensive staff professional development with attention to workload and wellbeing
• Good personal development opportunities through pupil roles, charity work and community involvement
• Pupils are generally well prepared for secondary school
• Attendance is improving through effective work with parents and carers

Areas for Improvement

• Writing outcomes are below national averages and some pupils have gaps in their writing knowledge
• Persistent absence remains too high for some pupils, including pupils taken on term-time holidays
• Pupils have too few opportunities to develop cultural awareness and extend their talents and interests beyond school
• Leaders should continue to improve foundational skills, particularly writing, so pupils build knowledge more securely over time

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 Finbar's Catholic Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.3% 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, 1.9% of pupils at St Finbar'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 Finbar's Catholic Primary School had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.2% 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, 20.8% of pupils at St Finbar's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Finbar's Catholic Primary School received £9,876 and spent £9,396 for each of its 154 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £123,000 (£799 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 Liverpool · Liverpool local authority: places and applications

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

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

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

St Finbar's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

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

St Finbar's Catholic Primary School has 159 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Finbar's Catholic Primary School?

St Finbar's Catholic Primary School is at South Hill Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L8 9RY.