Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy

Holy Cross Primary, a Catholic Voluntary Academy located in Hucknall, has demonstrated solid performance across various domains, receiving a 'Good' grade overall. The school has fostered a happy and safe environment, where pupils thrive and feel secure, thanks to strong Catholic values and supportive staff. The leadership's focus on updating the curriculum has paid off, resulting in high-quality pupil work and a range of engaging extracurricular activities that enhance personal development.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy, safe, and enjoy strong friendships.
• The school promotes a caring ethos and strong Catholic values.
• High expectations for pupil behavior and support for those who struggle.
• A successful range of extracurricular activities supports broader personal development.
• Children in early years make a strong start to their education.
• Leaders have developed a rich and engaging curriculum.
• Reading is prioritized, with systematic phonics instruction in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Weak outcomes in phonics for Year 1 and Year 2 pupils.
• Pupils do not consistently read from phonetically matched books.
• Pupil passports for those with SEND lack precise, measurable targets.

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 Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Holy Cross Primary 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 Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy had 27.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% 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, 7.8% of pupils at Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 2024–25 Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy received £6,898 and spent £6,734 for each of its 234 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £101,000 (£434 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,555 and spending £7,362 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 Ashfield · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 35 schools. The nearest others:

• St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School Nottingham
• Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School Nottingham
• Christ The King Voluntary Academy Nottingham
• The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary, Arnold Nottingham
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Nottingham
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Nottingham
• The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy Nottingham
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary and Nursery School, A Voluntary Academy Nottingham
• Our Lady & St Edward Primary & Nursery Catholic Voluntary Academy Nottingham
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Mansfield

What is Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy has 230 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy?

Holy Cross Primary Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Leen Mills Lane, Nottinghamshire, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, NG15 8BZ.