All Saints Catholic High School

All Saints Catholic High School is a large Catholic secondary school serving a disadvantaged community in Kirkby. Inspectors found a strong culture of care and belonging: pupils feel safe, behave very well, and attendance is improving, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Personal development and wellbeing are a particular strength, with a rich programme covering local and online risks, strong pastoral support, wide extra-curricular opportunities, and a careers programme that raises aspirations. Post-16 provision is also strong, with tailored vocational pathways and students progressing well to higher education and competitive degrees. Leadership and governance are effective, and inclusion and curriculum are meeting expected standards. Leaders use additional funding well to support disadvantaged pupils, and disadvantaged pupils generally achieve in line with similar pupils nationally. However, achievement is the main area of concern. Key stage 4 attainment and progress for some groups remain below national averages, some subjects have had weak outcomes for several years, and too many pupils leave school without secure literacy and numeracy skills. Curriculum planning and delivery are inconsistent in some subjects, and improvements have not yet led to consistently better examination results. Next steps focus on making teaching consistently high across key stages 3 and 4, monitoring how well pupils learn the curriculum in all subjects, and tracking the impact of provision for all vulnerable groups, not just disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils feel a strong sense of belonging and trust staff, helping them feel safe.
• Attendance is in line with national averages and improving, with disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND attending more often than similar groups nationally.
• Persistent absence has decreased sharply.
• Behaviour is highly positive, calm and respectful, with rare bullying and swift action when issues arise.
• Personal development is woven through school life and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• High-quality pastoral support and age-appropriate relationships and sex education.
• A broad extra-curricular offer, including residential visits and international pilgrimages, with barriers systematically removed.
• A comprehensive careers programme from Year 7 to Year 13 raises aspirations and leads to apprenticeships.
• Post-16 provision is tailored to students' needs, with strong vocational pathways and progression to higher education and competitive degrees.
• Sixth-form students achieve well, including disadvantaged students and those with SEND, often above national averages.
• The curriculum is broad, well designed and builds on pupils' prior knowledge.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and usually adapt work well for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils needing extra support with reading, writing, spelling, handwriting or mathematics are identified quickly.
• Inclusion is a clear strength: leaders identify difficulties rigorously and use external support effectively.
• Leaders and governors know the school well, prioritise staff wellbeing, and have improved staff retention.
• The school is a centre of care and inspiration, highly regarded by parents and the community.

Areas for Improvement

• Key stage 4 attainment and progress for some pupil groups remain below national averages.
• In some subjects, weak outcomes have persisted for several years.
• Too many pupils leave school without secure basic literacy and numeracy skills.
• Curriculum planning and delivery are inconsistent across some subjects.
• Improvements to the curriculum have not yet led to consistently better examination results.
• Teaching consistency is not yet high enough across key stages 3 and 4 in all subject areas.
• Leaders do not always track the impact of provision for pupils in all vulnerable groups, beyond disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Destinations after key stage 4 have been below national averages in recent 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 All Saints Catholic High School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 8.2% of pupils at All Saints Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 All Saints Catholic High School had 12.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 18.1% of pupils at All Saints Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 All Saints Catholic High School received £10,783 and spent £11,611 for each of its 1,130 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £63,000 (£56 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).

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• Secondary Schools

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What is All Saints Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for All Saints Catholic High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was All Saints Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

All Saints Catholic High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does All Saints Catholic High School have?

All Saints Catholic High School has 1,129 pupils on roll.

What age range does All Saints Catholic High School cover?

All Saints Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are All Saints Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.6, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is All Saints Catholic High School?

All Saints Catholic High School is at Roughwood Drive, Kirkby, Knowsley, Merseyside, L33 8XF.