St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School is a small Roman Catholic primary in an area with above-average deprivation and a much higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Inspectors found a caring school where safeguarding is effective, pupils feel safe and behave well, and staff know children as individuals. Early years provision gives children a secure start, reading is a priority, and personal development is well planned, with a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities. Many pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2 and are prepared for secondary school. However, the school's achievement and curriculum work are not consistently strong. Some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND and children known to social care, do not make the progress they should in some subjects in key stages 1 and 2. Staff do not check learning precisely enough, do not routinely address errors or adapt work, and gaps in writing and mathematics persist. Leaders' oversight of curriculum and teaching is not robust enough, and support for pupils is not always reviewed to see whether it is working. Leadership and governance also need strengthening. Leaders do not check carefully enough whether their actions are making the intended difference, so improvement is too slow, and governors are not trained well enough to provide effective support and challenge. Staff training is not sharply focused on the school's weaknesses, and attendance for pupils with SEND, although improving, should continue to be a priority. The school has clear next steps to improve achievement, teaching, inclusion and attendance.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils behave well in a calm, orderly and respectful environment.
• Early years provides a secure start with strong routines and purposeful play.
• Reading is a priority and phonics is taught from Reception.
• The personal development programme is well structured and adapted to pupils' needs.
• Pupils benefit from enrichment opportunities including music, sports and residential visits.
• Leaders have improved attendance for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils are proud of their school and staff know them as individuals.
• Many pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2 and are prepared for secondary school.
• Leaders manage staff workload and wellbeing with care and engage parents well.

Areas for Improvement

• Some disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and children known to social care do not make secure progress in some subjects.
• Staff do not check pupils' learning precisely enough, so gaps and misconceptions persist.
• Teaching of key aspects of writing and mathematics is inconsistent, and errors are not routinely corrected.
• Leaders' oversight of curriculum and teaching is not sufficiently robust.
• Additional support is not always reviewed for effectiveness, so less effective approaches remain too long.
• Staff training varies in quality and is not targeted well enough at the school's weaknesses.
• Governors are not trained well enough to provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Improvements happen too slowly because leaders do not check whether actions make the intended difference.
• Attendance for pupils with SEND should continue to improve, and persistent absence is above the national average.

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 Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.6% 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, 3.0% of pupils at St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street 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 Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.0% 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, 14.6% of pupils at St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street received £8,208 and spent £8,176 for each of its 151 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £176,000 (£1,169 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).

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What is St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street is Needs attention, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street last inspected by Ofsted?

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street have?

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street has 151 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street cover?

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street?

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street is at St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 4HX.