St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy

St Wulstan’s and St Edmund’s Catholic Academy is a happy and caring primary school where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from a broad personal development offer, including trips, clubs and community activities. Early years provision is a notable strength, children get a positive start, and reading is prioritised across the school. Safeguarding is effective. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection since it became an academy in 2022; its predecessor was judged to require improvement, and the headteacher was appointed in April 2024. However, pupils are not achieving as well as they should. Although curriculum plans have recently been improved with trust support, changes have not been swift enough, and pupils have gaps in knowledge from previous weaknesses. Teachers often move on to new learning before checking and addressing misunderstandings, including in written work, and the school does not consistently evaluate how well the curriculum is being delivered. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is not as effective as it should be, and the recently introduced phonics programme is not yet fully effective. Leadership and governance are not yet securing sustained improvement. Those responsible for governance have not provided enough support and challenge, and the trust and local governing body have not been prompt enough in tackling underachievement, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Staff and parents are positive about the school, and behaviour and personal development are clear strengths, but the quality of education and leadership and management are not yet good enough.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and are well supported by staff.
• Pupils are courteous, respectful and generally behave well in lessons and around school.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start and develops their independence and curiosity.
• The school provides a broad range of trips, clubs, residential visits and community activities.
• Pupils’ personal development is well provided for through roles such as buddies, house captains and school councillors.
• Reading is prioritised, with diverse books, library involvement and rewards for reading at home.
• Staff receive training to develop subject expertise and choose suitable learning activities.
• The school identifies pupils’ additional needs early and works well with parents and external professionals.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff are appreciative of the support they receive, and parents are positive about the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should because of weaknesses in curriculum design and delivery.
• Pupils have gaps in learning from previous curriculum deficiencies.
• Teachers do not identify and address pupils’ misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge promptly enough.
• The school is not consistently effective in evaluating how well the curriculum is implemented.
• Support for pupils with SEND in their learning is not as effective as it should be.
• The recently introduced phonics programme is not fully effective, so pupils are not as prepared for key stage 2 as they could be.
• Governance has not been swift enough in providing support and challenge to secure sustained improvement.
• The trust and local governing body have not been prompt enough in addressing underachievement, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Curriculum changes have not been swift enough to significantly improve pupils’ achievement.

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 Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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, 1.4% of pupils at St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy 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 Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% 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, 23.6% of pupils at St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy received £7,494 and spent £7,888 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £13,000 (-£65 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,639 and spending £7,702 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 Fleetwood · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy is part of The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Fleetwood Fleetwood
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Thornton Cleveleys Thornton-Cleveleys
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Thornton-Cleveleys
• St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Blackpool
• St John's Catholic Primary School, Poulton-Le-Fylde Poulton-Le-Fylde
• St William's Catholic Primary School, Pilling Preston
• Holy Family Catholic Primary School Blackpool
• Christ The King Catholic Academy Blackpool
• St Mary's Catholic Academy Blackpool
• St Kentigern's Catholic Primary School Blackpool

What is St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy have?

St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy cover?

St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 18% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy?

St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy is at Poulton Road, St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Academy, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 7JY.