Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is maintaining the standards set during its previous inspection and continues to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for its pupils. The school is part of the St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust, under the guidance of a dedicated headteacher and a committed board of trustees. Students are highly engaged and demonstrate pride in their achievements, which fosters a sense of belonging and community spirit. The school emphasizes the importance of behavior, with pupils exhibiting respect and tolerance towards one another.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending and take pride in their achievements.
• The school promotes a strong culture of togetherness and belonging.
• High academic expectations are set by teachers, leading to a determined student body.
• Pupils are encouraged to take on responsibilities, serving as role models for others.
• Effective strategies for early reading ensure children become confident, fluent readers.

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on pupils’ understanding do not always effectively identify when they are ready to progress.
• Some adaptations for pupils with SEND lack precision, impacting their learning progress.

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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.3% 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy had 24.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 15.3% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 2024–25 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy received £6,398 and spent £6,664 for each of its 196 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £195,000 (-£997 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,145 and spending £7,245 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Loughborough · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough Loughborough
• De Lisle College Loughborough Leicestershire Loughborough
• Saint Winefride's Catholic Voluntary Academy, Shepshed, Leicestershire Loughborough
• Holy Cross School A Catholic Voluntary Academy Coalville
• Saint Clare's Primary School A Catholic Voluntary Academy, Coalville, Leicestershire Coalville
• Bishop Ellis Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Saint Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester

What is Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy?

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Beacon Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 2BG.