Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy is a warm, welcoming and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, behave well and are proud of their community. The school has strengthened behaviour, attendance systems and personal development, and pupils benefit from a wide range of extracurricular activities, leadership roles and careers guidance. Leadership is well supported by the St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, and staff understand the school's priorities. The main area for development is the quality of education. The curriculum has been redesigned and is now well sequenced, including for pupils with SEND, and reading support is effective. However, some older pupils still have gaps in their knowledge from the previous curriculum, and teachers' checks do not always identify misconceptions or move pupils on when they are ready. Published outcomes show that some pupils are not achieving as well as they should. Attendance is another concern: too many pupils, including some vulnerable pupils, do not attend regularly, although the school's actions are beginning to improve rates. This was the school's first section 5 inspection, following its conversion to academy status and substantial leadership changes; the predecessor school had been judged inadequate.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for in a warm and welcoming school.
• There is a strong sense of belonging and unity, and diversity is cherished.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school.
• The school has considerably strengthened its approach to managing unacceptable conduct.
• Personal development is extensive, with a wide and growing range of extracurricular activities.
• Pupils are keen to take on leadership roles such as student chaplains, school council members and mentors.
• The curriculum is now well designed and sequenced so that all pupils, including those with SEND, can build knowledge logically.
• Staff are well supported to teach the curriculum effectively.
• Reading support is swift and effective, and the school promotes reading for enjoyment.
• Careers guidance is comprehensive and tailored to pupils' future decisions.
• Leaders at all levels understand the school's priorities, and the trust provides supportive challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement, and some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.
• Some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge from weaknesses in the previous curriculum.
• Teachers' checks do not always uncover gaps in pupils' understanding or provide enough opportunities for pupils to progress when ready.
• Too many pupils, including some vulnerable pupils, do not attend school as regularly as they should.

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 Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy attended 88.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 38.3% 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, 9.9% of pupils at Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy had 12.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.2% 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, 17.5% of pupils at Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% 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 Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy received £9,611 and spent £10,248 for each of its 367 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £862,000 (£2,349 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £9,073 and spending £8,887 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 Runcorn · Halton local authority: places and applications

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy is part of St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• St Ambrose Catholic Academy Liverpool
• St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy Liverpool
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy St Helens
• St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy St. Helens
• St Charles' Catholic Academy Liverpool
• St Nicholas Catholic Academy Liverpool
• Notre Dame Catholic Academy Liverpool
• The Trinity Catholic Academy Liverpool
• Holy Family Catholic Academy Wigan
• Holy Spirit Catholic Academy Bootle

What is Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy have?

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy has 332 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy cover?

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.5, and 23% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy?

Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy is at Grangeway, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 5YH.