Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School

Hope Primary School is a warm, caring joint Catholic and Church of England primary where pupils are happy, polite and attentive, and where staff build strong, trusting relationships with them. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum that builds logically from the early years through to Year 6 and is delivered well, so that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well in many subjects. Early reading and phonics are given high priority, personal development is strong, safeguarding is effective, and staff morale is high. The main areas for improvement are reading fluency for a small number of pupils and attendance. A small group of pupils, including some with SEND, are not yet given enough help to blend known sounds when reading new words, which slows their progress towards fluent reading. Attendance has been stubbornly low since the COVID-19 pandemic and remains below local and national averages, although the school’s new attendance project is beginning to improve punctuality. It is too soon to see a sustained impact on overall absence and persistent absenteeism. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was given, but each key judgement was good.

Strengths

• Warm, caring and safe environment with strong pupil-staff relationships
• Pupils are happy, polite, attentive and behave well
• Ambitious curriculum that builds logically from early years to Year 6
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well across many subjects
• Clear early identification and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Strong focus on communication, language and early reading
• Phonics programme delivered well with appropriate catch-up support
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain
• Pupils understand British values and how to stay safe and well
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Governors fulfil their duties effectively and staff morale is high
• Good range of musical, sporting, leadership and wider opportunities

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils, including some with SEND, are not helped sufficiently to blend known sounds when reading new words
• This limits some pupils’ ability to read confidently and fluently
• Attendance and persistent absence remain below local and national averages
• New attendance actions are at an early stage and have not yet had a sustained impact
• Some pupils continue to miss out on important learning because of absence

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 Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 30.0% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England 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 Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.6% 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, 15.4% of pupils at Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School received £8,496 and spent £8,468 for each of its 424 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £486,000 (£1,147 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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What is Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School have?

Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School has 428 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School cover?

Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School?

Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School is at Lordens Road, Huyton, Knowsley, Merseyside, L14 8UD.