St Ann's Church of England Primary School

St Ann's Church of England Primary School is a kind, caring community where pupils are very happy and behave exceptionally well. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since becoming an academy, and the school was previously judged outstanding before academy conversion. Inspectors found the quality of education good, with outstanding behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well and benefit from an ambitious curriculum, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. The school's strengths are broad: reading is central and phonics is taught extremely well; pupils with SEND are identified early and supported expertly; personal development is exceptional, with strong provision for safety, British values, financial literacy, enterprise and pupil leadership. Attendance is higher than average, safeguarding is effective, and governance and trust support are strong. Staff feel well supported and proud to work there. The main area to improve is small: in a very small number of foundation subjects, opportunities to revisit and recall previous learning are not effective enough, so pupils do not always remember key content over time. Leaders should ensure recap is consistently strong so pupils build knowledge securely across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils behave exceptionally well and are courteous, respectful ambassadors for the school.
• Personal development is exceptional, helping pupils become respectful, safe and responsible citizens.
• Reading is central to the curriculum and phonics is delivered extremely well.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and supported expertly to learn alongside their peers.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, with particularly strong reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils achieve well and attendance is higher than average.
• A wide range of clubs, trips, sporting opportunities and leadership programmes nurture pupils' talents.
• Governance and trust oversight are accurate and diligent, and staff feel well supported.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Early years provision is outstanding, with children quickly absorbing routines and the 'St Ann's way'.

Areas for Improvement

• In a very small number of foundation subjects, recall opportunities do not help pupils revisit prior learning effectively, limiting knowledge retention over time.

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 Ann's Church of England Primary School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.7% 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, 0.7% of pupils at St Ann's 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 St Ann's Church of England Primary School had 23.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.2% 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, 16.8% of pupils at St Ann's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Ann's Church of England Primary School received £7,057 and spent £7,133 for each of its 412 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £240,000 (-£583 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of The Three Saints Academy Trust, income was £8,264 and spending £8,305 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 Prescot · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

St Ann's Church of England Primary School is part of The Three Saints Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Willow Tree Primary School St Helens
• St Mary & St Thomas CofE Primary School St Helens
• St Michael with St Thomas CE Primary School Widnes
• Blackmoor Park Infants' School Liverpool

What is St Ann's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Ann's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was St Ann's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Ann's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does St Ann's Church of England Primary School have?

St Ann's Church of England Primary School has 404 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Ann's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Ann's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Ann's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Ann's Church of England Primary School?

St Ann's Church of England Primary School is at View Road, Rainhill, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 0LQ.