St Monica's Catholic Primary School

St Monica’s Catholic Primary School is a welcoming and caring school where pupils feel safe, happy and well supported. Pupils behave well, attendance is strong, and the school has high expectations and ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Reading and phonics are taught effectively, children get a positive start in the early years, and pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities and clubs. Many pupils achieve well and are prepared for secondary school. The school is judged good across the key areas inspected, although this was its first routine inspection since 2014 and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic. Governors support and challenge leaders well, staff value the support they receive, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are that some teachers do not have enough information to adapt learning for a small number of pupils with SEND, and that some pupils have gaps in knowledge in a small number of subjects because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Some of these gaps are not yet being identified or addressed swiftly enough.

Strengths

• Pupils feel welcome, safe and well supported through strong pastoral care
• Pupils behave well and understand the school’s rules and routines
• The school has high expectations and ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of trips, clubs and enrichment opportunities
• Many pupils, including pupils with SEND, achieve well during their time at the school
• The curriculum sets out the important knowledge pupils should learn from Nursery to Year 6
• Teachers benefit from high-quality training in a number of curriculum subjects
• Early years provision helps children get off to a positive start in school
• Reading and phonics are taught consistently well, and pupils develop a love of reading
• Attendance is strong, with robust systems to identify and address concerns quickly
• Pupils develop a deep understanding of fundamental British values and healthy relationships
• Governors support and challenge the school well and focus sharply on the quality of education
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value support with workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not have sufficient information to adapt learning well enough for a small number of pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND are not supported to access the curriculum as effectively as they could be
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge in a small number of subjects because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum
• Some of these knowledge gaps have not been identified or addressed, limiting the depth of pupils’ knowledge

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 Monica's Catholic Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.6% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St Monica'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 Monica's Catholic Primary School had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.8% 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, 20.9% of pupils at St Monica's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 Monica's Catholic Primary School received £7,169 and spent £6,948 for each of its 439 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £286,000 (£652 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 Bootle · Sefton local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Monica's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

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

St Monica's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

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

St Monica's Catholic Primary School has 446 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Monica's Catholic Primary School?

St Monica's Catholic Primary School is at Kelly Drive, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 9EB.