St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

St Malachy’s Catholic Primary School is a caring, inclusive school where pupils feel safe and supported, and relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Behaviour has improved significantly, personal development is a strength, and the early years provision is effective. Leadership and governance are also strong, with staff well supported by the school and the Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area of concern is the quality of education. Curriculum changes have raised ambition, but their impact is not yet reflected in pupils’ outcomes, and too many pupils leave for secondary school without the skills and knowledge they need. In some subjects, content is not sequenced logically, and assessment information is not consistently used to address gaps and misconceptions. Reading and phonics are exceptions, with strong support for pupils who struggle. Attendance is another significant issue. Leaders work tenaciously to improve attendance, but persistent absence remains too high, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and this is affecting their learning and published outcomes. Overall, the school is on a positive improvement journey, with several strong areas, but it still has important work to do in curriculum implementation, assessment and attendance.

Strengths

• Inclusive, caring and safe environment where pupils feel well supported
• Positive relationships and significantly improved behaviour
• Strong personal development programme covering relationships, safety and equality
• Effective early years provision with skilled staff and engaging learning
• Effective phonics and reading support for pupils who struggle
• Swift identification and appropriate support for pupils with SEND
• Strong governance and trust support with staff feeling professionally developed
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum sequencing is inconsistent in some subjects, limiting how well pupils build knowledge over time
• Assessment information is not consistently used to identify and address gaps and misconceptions
• Persistent absence remains too high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, affecting their learning
• Published outcomes do not yet reflect curriculum improvements, and too many pupils leave without the skills and knowledge they need

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 Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.8% 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, 1.9% of pupils at St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 28.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 18.0% of pupils at St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.2% 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 St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy received £8,414 and spent £7,969 for each of its 160 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £193,000 (£1,210 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust, income was £7,042 and spending £6,738 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 Halifax · Calderdale local authority: places and applications

St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy Halifax
• St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy Halifax
• Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Sowerby Bridge
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy Elland
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy, Brighouse Brighouse
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy Huddersfield
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary Academy Huddersfield
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy Huddersfield
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy Batley
• Holy Spirit Catholic Primary Academy Heckmondwike

What is St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 172 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?

St Malachy's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is at Furness Place, Illingworth, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX2 8JY.