The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School

The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School has transitioned from requiring improvement to achieving a good overall effectiveness rating. Pupils enjoy their time at school and demonstrate a strong sense of camaraderie, often engaging enthusiastically in lessons and extracurricular activities. The school fosters a supportive environment, underlined by effective safeguarding measures and high expectations for student achievement. While the curriculum is well-structured and ambitious, particularly for pupils with SEND, there are areas needing enhancement, especially in the early years and specific subjects where reflection on learning could be improved.

Strengths

• Pupils show enthusiasm for learning and enjoy attending school.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-ordered, supporting pupils' knowledge development.
• Strong behaviour and attitudes among pupils, contributing to a calm and orderly environment.
• Effective phonics programme helps pupils become fluent readers.
• Good attendance and punctuality are prioritized and successfully maintained.
• Staff are well-trained and supported, ensuring effective curriculum delivery.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years curriculum lacks clarity on small steps needed for achieving learning end points.
• Pupils in some subjects do not have enough opportunities to reflect on their 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 The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.6% 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, 3.2% of pupils at The Holy Spirit 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 The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School had 14.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 34.3% 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, 29.3% of pupils at The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School received £11,944 and spent £11,766 for each of its 75 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £14,000 (-£191 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 Runcorn · Halton local authority: places and applications

What is The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School have?

The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School has 75 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School cover?

The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School?

The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School is at Cotterill, Halton Brook, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2NL.