St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale

St James' Catholic Primary School in Skelmersdale has been evaluated as good overall, maintaining its previous inspection grade. The school is recognized for its nurturing environment, where pupils feel safe and enjoy positive relationships with staff and peers. Leaders have implemented an ambitious curriculum that supports pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). While many pupils achieve well, particularly in early reading and personal development, there are some areas that require further improvement, especially in curriculum implementation across certain subjects and pupil attendance.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and staff create a nurturing environment.
• High expectations for behaviour lead to enthusiastic engagement in lessons.
• Effective implementation of the phonics program aids early reading.
• Positive personal development opportunities prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Governors are actively engaged and know their roles well.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent support for pupils struggling with phonics hampers reading fluency.
• Lack of clear guidance in some subjects leads to varied teaching effectiveness.
• Attendance issues result in some pupils missing out on learning opportunities.

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 James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.5% 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, 1.7% of pupils at St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale 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 James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale had 24.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% 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, 7.9% of pupils at St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale received £6,809 and spent £6,907 for each of its 229 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £81,000 (£354 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 Skelmersdale · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is Good, from an inspection in April 2023.

When was St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale last inspected by Ofsted?

St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale was last inspected in April 2023.

How many pupils does St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale have?

St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale cover?

St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale?

St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is at Ashurst Road, Ashurst, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6TN.