Sacred Heart Catholic Academy

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is a welcoming and caring school where pupils from different backgrounds mix well and staff are attentive to their well-being and safety. This was its first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy in 2022, and it is part of the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust. The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The inspection judged the school to require improvement in each inspected area, including sixth-form provision. Leaders and the trust have begun to tackle a legacy of an inadequate curriculum and poor teaching, and the curriculum is now carefully planned and better supported by training. However, delivery is inconsistent: some teachers do not use the most suitable methods or check pupils’ understanding well enough, so some pupils develop gaps in their learning. Pupils with SEND are identified and supported well, although their achievement in key stage 4 remains variable. Behaviour has improved and pupils typically behave well, but a small group of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend regularly enough and miss important learning. Reading support, personal development, careers education, extra-curricular opportunities and staff well-being are notable strengths.

Strengths

• Welcoming and caring school community where pupils from different backgrounds mix well.
• Staff care for pupils’ well-being and safety, and pupils know who to speak to when worried.
• The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully planned in each subject, including the sixth form.
• Leaders and the trust have taken effective action to address a legacy of weak curriculum and teaching.
• Teachers generally know their subjects well and provide clear explanations in many lessons.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and increasingly well supported in the classroom.
• Reading is a priority, with effective systems to identify and remedy pupils’ reading gaps.
• Behaviour has improved; pupils typically behave well, follow routines and treat each other positively.
• Personal development is well considered, including a reviewed PSHE programme and age-appropriate careers education.
• Extra-curricular opportunities have increased in response to pupils’ suggestions.
• Leadership is considerate of staff workload and well-being, with effective trust and governance support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects, so pupils do not achieve as well as they should.
• Some teachers do not choose the most suitable teaching methods to help pupils understand key knowledge.
• In some lessons, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding well enough, allowing gaps and misconceptions to develop, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Achievement of pupils with SEND in key stage 4 is variable because of the legacy of weak curriculum and teaching.
• A small group of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend school regularly enough and miss important learning.
• Attendance strategies are not yet effective for all pupils and families.
• Sixth-form provision requires improvement and shares the same inconsistencies in curriculum delivery.

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 Sacred Heart Catholic Academy attended 86.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.8% 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, 12.6% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Academy had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.0% 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, 17.3% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.3% 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Academy received £9,545 and spent £9,481 for each of its 658 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £359,000 (-£546 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 Liverpool · Sefton local authority: places and applications

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is part of Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

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

What is Sacred Heart Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Sacred Heart Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Catholic Academy have?

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy has 613 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Catholic Academy cover?

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Sacred Heart Catholic Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.9, and 50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sacred Heart Catholic Academy?

Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is at Liverpool Road, Crosby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L23 5TF.