Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in Whiston, part of the Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, with 757 pupils and high levels of disadvantage: about half are eligible for free school meals and over a fifth receive SEN support. Inspectors found safeguarding standards met and a calm, orderly school where behaviour has improved and pupils generally feel safe. Leaders have a clear improvement plan, strong trust support and targeted action on attendance, curriculum and inclusion; current data shows attendance improving and persistent absence falling, and younger pupils and those with barriers to learning are beginning to achieve better. However, the school is at an early stage of improvement and every evaluated area was judged to need attention. Achievement remains well below national averages, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and older pupils carry knowledge gaps from previous staffing turbulence and poor attendance. Overall attendance and persistent absence are still worse than national, many pupils do not fully engage, and fixed-term suspensions remain high. Teaching and curriculum quality are inconsistent, SEND adaptations are uneven, inclusion work is not yet embedded, and careers and personal development are not consistently secure. Leaders' work is relatively new and not yet having a consistent impact. The report identifies next steps around embedding attendance strategies, securing consistently high-quality teaching, implementing SEND support consistently, giving pupils more opportunities to practise and deepen learning, securing foundational literacy and numeracy, and developing careers guidance.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils say they feel safe.
• The school is calm and orderly, with high expectations for conduct applied consistently by staff.
• Behaviour has improved and most pupils behave appropriately in lessons and around school.
• Staff deal quickly with bullying and inappropriate behaviour, including derogatory language.
• Leaders analyse attendance in forensic detail and current data shows improving attendance and reducing persistent absence.
• The new curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, identifying key knowledge and skills.
• Leaders' work on basic literacy and numeracy is starting to improve pupils' skills, particularly reading for vulnerable pupils.
• Staff typically have secure subject knowledge, and effective teaching has clear structure and good recall activities.
• SEND is identified accurately and in a timely way, and staff understand pupils' barriers to learning.
• The 'thrive' space is calm and supportive for pupils with SEND and behavioural needs.
• Alternative provision placements are carefully checked and pupils' attendance and progress monitored closely.
• Leaders have a clear, realistic improvement plan and high aspirations for pupils.
• Trust support, including on attendance and mathematics, contributes to leaders' work.
• Trustees and the local governing board meet statutory duties and know the school's context well.
• Staff are well supported, including early-career staff, with attention to workload and wellbeing.
• Pupils benefit from suitable pastoral support and a growing range of enrichment opportunities and trips.
• The PSHE curriculum is secure and pupils learn about mental health, safety and British values, though not consistently.
• Spiritual development is supported through liturgical assemblies, prayer and pupil leadership roles.
• Careers work is progressing, with older pupils benefiting from work experience and targeted one-to-one advice.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement is consistently below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment are below those of similar pupils nationally.
• Achievement varies across classes and subjects.
• Older pupils have considerable knowledge gaps from historic staff turnover, affecting confidence and readiness to work.
• Overall attendance remains below national averages.
• Persistent absence is high, at 47.8% in 2024/25, well above the national average.
• Many pupils do not fully engage with learning.
• Fixed-term suspensions remain high, although declining.
• Curriculum and teaching quality are inconsistent across the school.
• Historic teaching weaknesses mean many pupils lack secure foundations for GCSE study.
• Teaching does not consistently draw out extended verbal and written responses.
• Some tasks occupy pupils rather than deepening knowledge or building independence.
• Inclusion work is at an early stage and training is not consistently implemented.
• Support for pupils with SEND varies in quality in the classroom.
• Several aspects of leadership are new and not yet embedded enough to have consistent impact.
• Personal development and enrichment work still need further development.
• Pupils' knowledge of British values and protected characteristics is not consistently secure.
• Careers education is progressing but not widely embedded.
• Foundational reading, writing, speaking and numeracy skills need to be secured for all pupils.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND need to improve swiftly.

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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy attended 83.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 47.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 24.6% of pupils at Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 32.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 25.6% of pupils at Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy received £10,663 and spent £10,327 for each of its 761 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £954,000 (£1,254 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £9,373 and spending £9,272 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 · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is part of Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco Bootle
• Our Lady of Walsingham Primary School Bootle
• Sacred Heart Catholic Academy Liverpool
• St Edmund's and St Thomas' Catholic Primary School Liverpool
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Liverpool
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Southport

What is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy have?

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy has 730 pupils on roll.

What age range does Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy cover?

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 32.6, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy?

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is at Cumber Lane, Whiston, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 2XG.