St Julie's Catholic Primary School

St Julie’s Catholic Primary is a happy, caring school where pupils feel proud and well supported. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, so inspectors considered the school’s long-standing previous outstanding judgement and the absence of an overall effectiveness grade under the current framework. The school is part of the Diocese of Liverpool and the governing body is responsible for wraparound care. Provision is strong across the main areas of school life. Leaders have built an ambitious curriculum, staff know their subjects well, pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers, and reading is a high priority from Reception. Early years provision is a particular strength: children settle quickly, are exceptionally well prepared for key stage 1 and benefit from high-quality conversation and vocabulary development. Pupils behave well, are kind and polite, attend regularly, and take part in community and leadership activities. Safeguarding is effective, governors are knowledgeable, and staff are positive about workload and well-being. The main area for improvement is in a small number of subjects where curriculum changes are recent. Some pupils have had fewer opportunities to revisit and secure important knowledge, so their understanding is uneven and they do not always make strong connections between prior and new learning. The school should embed and fully implement these curriculum improvements so pupils develop a secure body of knowledge across all subjects.

Strengths

• Warm, happy and caring school culture with strong staff-pupil relationships
• Early years provision is exceptional and prepares children very well for key stage 1
• Engaging and ambitious curriculum with clear sequencing from early years to Year 6
• Pupils with SEND are identified through strong partnership work and access the same curriculum
• Staff have secure subject knowledge and often address misconceptions effectively
• Reading is a high priority, with effective phonics teaching and support for pupils who struggle
• Pupils behave well, are kind and polite, and take on leadership roles
• The school promotes regular attendance relentlessly
• Pupils develop as responsible citizens through community action and learning about diversity
• Governors fulfil their roles knowledgeably and staff well-being is well supported
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, recent curriculum improvements are not fully embedded
• Some pupils’ knowledge and skills are less secure in these subjects because they have had fewer opportunities to revisit learning
• Pupils’ knowledge is uneven in some subjects, hindering connections between prior and new learning

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 Julie's Catholic Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Julie'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 Julie's Catholic Primary School had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.8% 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, 10.4% of pupils at St Julie's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 Julie's Catholic Primary School received £6,339 and spent £6,576 for each of its 212 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £3,000 (£13 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 St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Julie's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

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

St Julie's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

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

St Julie's Catholic Primary School has 212 pupils on roll.

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

St Julie's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Julie's Catholic Primary School?

St Julie's Catholic Primary School is at Brooklands Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 5HG.