St John Vianney Catholic Primary School

St John Vianney Catholic Primary School is a happy and inclusive school where pupils behave well, feel safe, and are proud to attend. Most areas of provision are graded at the expected standard, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils make secure progress, produce high-quality work, and are well prepared for their next stage of education. The early years provision is particularly strong, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are well supported to access the curriculum. Attendance is broadly in line with the national average, and leaders work effectively with families to reduce barriers to regular attendance. However, leadership and governance are graded as needing attention. Leaders do not have a deep enough understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses, meaning some areas requiring development have not been addressed. In particular, phonics teaching has not been consistently effective over time, and pupils have had to catch up in reading. Governors fulfil their duties but do not always seek further assurances about the impact of leaders' actions, leading to inconsistencies in oversight. Additionally, some pupils lack a deep understanding of fundamental British values and the differences protected by law. The school has been given clear next steps to improve phonics delivery, strengthen leadership oversight, and deepen pupils' personal development.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and show high levels of respect towards others.
• Leaders have created a calm and welcoming environment where pupils feel secure.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and take pride in their work.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start and prepares them well for Year 1.
• Staff support pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils effectively to access the curriculum.
• Attendance is broadly in line with the national average, and leaders intervene quickly to address absence.
• The curriculum is well ordered, and teachers have secure subject knowledge.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enriching experiences beyond the academic curriculum.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value professional development opportunities.
• Governors are dedicated and provide support and challenge to leaders.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and know how to stay safe.
• Reading, writing and mathematics attainment has improved over time, including for disadvantaged pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics teaching is not consistently effective, meaning some younger pupils do not gain the phonics knowledge they need in a timely manner.
• Leaders' knowledge of what is working well and what needs to improve is not deep enough, so some areas requiring development are not recognised and addressed.
• Governors do not always seek further assurances about the impact of leaders' actions, leading to inconsistencies in oversight.
• Some pupils lack a deep understanding of fundamental British values and the differences between people protected by law.
• Disadvantaged pupils' reading and writing attainment remains below national averages, though it is improving.
• The personal development programme needs further development to deepen pupils' understanding of British values.

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 John Vianney Catholic Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.6% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St John Vianney 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 John Vianney Catholic Primary School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.0% 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, 20.5% of pupils at St John Vianney Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 John Vianney Catholic Primary School received £7,187 and spent £6,485 for each of its 195 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £215,000 (£1,104 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

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What is St John Vianney Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John Vianney Catholic Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St John Vianney Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John Vianney Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St John Vianney Catholic Primary School have?

St John Vianney Catholic Primary School has 195 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John Vianney Catholic Primary School cover?

St John Vianney Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John Vianney Catholic Primary School?

St John Vianney Catholic Primary School is at Elton Head Road, Sutton Heath, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5BT.