St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School

St Michaels Catholic Primary School is performing well overall, with a rating of Good in most areas. Pupils enjoy attending school, and the supportive environment fosters high levels of respect and positive relationships among students and staff. The leadership team has created a balanced and ambitious curriculum, and many pupils, including those with special educational needs, are achieving well. However, there are a few areas for improvement, particularly in ensuring that all staff have the necessary expertise to support pupils in developing their reading skills and that the curriculum guidance is consistent across all subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils show exemplary behaviour and have positive attitudes towards learning.
• The school provides a caring environment where pupils feel happy and safe.
• Leaders have designed a balanced and ambitious curriculum for all pupils.
• Effective strategies are in place to check pupils' learning during lessons.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Strong pastoral care contributes to pupils' personal development and well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff lack the expertise to support pupils struggling with reading fluency.
• Inconsistent curriculum guidance in a few subjects, including early years.

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 Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.1% 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 Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery 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 Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School had 22.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% 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, 24.5% of pupils at St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School received £7,086 and spent £7,561 for each of its 253 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £132,000 (-£520 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 Widnes · Halton local authority: places and applications

What is St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School have?

St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School has 253 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School cover?

St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School?

St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School is at St Michael's Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 8TD.