Willow Tree Primary School
Willow Tree Primary School is an academy converter in St Helens for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 172 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Willow Tree Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2022 of its predecessor, Willow Tree Primary School. In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Suspensions are common here, with 6 in every 100 pupils suspended at least once in 2024/25 (nationally, 1.1). Teacher turnover is high, with about 46% of its teachers gone within a year (in 2024/25; nationally, 16%).
Ofsted inspection: September 2024. KS2 results: 2025.
| Type | Primary / Academy converter |
| Age Range | 3-11 |
| Religion | Does not apply |
| Address | Willow Tree Avenue Leach Lane Sutton Leach St Helens Merseyside WA9 4LZ |
| Phone | 01744678730 |
| Reference Number | 150877 |
General Makeup
| Number of pupils | 172 |
| Boy/Girl ratio |
Boys: 52.91%
Girls: 47.09% |
| Percentage of students eligible for free school meals | 55.3% |
| Percentage of students where English is not their first language | 15.1% |
Class Sizes
| Average size of one teacher classes | 21.3 |
| Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher | 20.3 |
| Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher | 25.8 |
Year Groups
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | 8 | 27 |
| 2 | 18 | 4 | 22 |
| 3 | 8 | 13 | 21 |
| 4 | 12 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | 14 | 18 | 32 |
| 6 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
Ethnicities
| Ethnicity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| White, British | 82% |
| African | 4.1% |
| White & Black (African) | 2.3% |
| White, Other | 1.7% |
| Mixed, Other | 1.7% |
| Pakistani | 1.7% |
| Unclassified | 1.2% |
| Chinese | 0.6% |
| White & Asian | 0.6% |
This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Willow Tree Primary School, inspected in July 2022.
| Overall Ofsted Rating | Requires Improvement |
| Last Report Date | This school has not had an inspection yet. |
| Date | Report |
|---|---|
| 05 Sep 2024 | Academy conversion letter |
How many students meet the standards
| Reading, Writing & Maths | School Score | Percentile (local) | Percentile (nationwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils meeting the expected standard | 73% | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Pupils meeting a higher standard | 23% | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
Average Scaled Score
Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.
| Subject | School | Percentile (local) | Percentile (nationwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 110 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Maths | 108 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
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See how Willow Tree Primary School ranks locally and nationally. Percentile rankings against every other school, historic result charts, admissions data and post-GCSE destinations are all included.
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Unlock for £9.99Reception admissions, 2026 entry
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| Number of Applications | Number of Offers | |
| First Preference | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Second Preference | 12 | 0 |
| Third Preference | 16 | 0 |
| From another Local Authority | 1 | 0 |
Previous years
Sample
UnlockPlaces and pupil numbers
In 2024–25 Willow Tree Primary School had 172 pupils for 315 places. 143 places (45.4%) were unfilled.
Reception intake in the “Sutton Primary” planning area
St. Helens counted 266 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 226 in 2029–30, down 15%.
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 Willow Tree Primary School attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).
Sessions missed
Pupils persistently absent
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Authorised absence | 4.6% |
| Unauthorised absence | 3.7% |
| Severely absent pupils | 1.9% |
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, 6.0% of pupils at Willow Tree Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.
Pupils suspended at least once
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Suspensions per 100 pupils | 13.0 |
| Permanent exclusions | 0 |
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 Willow Tree Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 46.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).
Pupils per teacher
Teachers who left the school within a year
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils per adult | 8.4 | 10.1 |
| Teachers who left state teaching | 23.3% | – |
| Teachers who took any sick leave | 33.3% | – |
| Sick days per teacher | 1.3 | – |
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, 31.4% of pupils at Willow Tree Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).
Pupils by main type of need
| SEN support | EHC plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Speech, language and communication needs | 24 | 4 |
| Social, emotional and mental health | 15 | 0 |
| Specific learning difficulty | 5 | 1 |
| No specialist assessment of need | 5 | 0 |
| Moderate learning difficulty | 4 | 0 |
| Other difficulty or disability | 1 | 0 |
| Severe learning difficulty | 0 | 1 |
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 Willow Tree Primary School received £8,656 and spent £7,956 for each of its 184 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £371,000 (£2,024 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
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Revenue reserve | £371,000 |
| per pupil | £2,024 |
| In-year balance | £129,000 |
| per pupil | £701 |
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.
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|
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0.43 miles |
|
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|
Eaves Primary School
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|
St Anne's Catholic Primary School
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Sutton Manor Community Primary School
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|
Robins Lane Community Primary School
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|
Sutton Oak CofE Primary School
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|
St John Vianney Catholic Primary School
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1.48 miles |
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Rainhill Community Nursery
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St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School
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|
Allanson Street Primary School
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1.87 miles |
|
Thatto Heath Community Primary School
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1.94 miles |
|
Oakdene Primary Academy
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2.08 miles |
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Nutgrove Methodist Primary School
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2.08 miles |
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St Austin's Catholic Primary School
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2.1 miles |
|
St Ann's Church of England Primary School
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2.15 miles |
|
Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School
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2.23 miles |
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Broad Oak Community Primary School
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2.29 miles |
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St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School
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Longton Lane Community Primary School
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| Name | Distance |
|
Ash Meadow School
Jubits Lane, St Helens, WA9 4RT |
0.51 miles |
|
The Sutton Academy
Elton Head Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5AU |
0.8 miles |
|
St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy
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1.66 miles |
|
Rainhill High School
Warrington Road, Rainhill, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 6NY |
1.76 miles |
|
Lansbury Bridge School
Lansbury Avenue, Parr, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 1TB |
2.05 miles |
|
Mill Green School
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2.07 miles |
|
Tower College
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2.1 miles |
|
St Helens College
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2.45 miles |
|
Great Sankey High School
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2.63 miles |
|
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
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2.65 miles |
|
This Is My Education - TIME
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2.68 miles |
|
Carmel College
Prescot Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 3AG |
2.79 miles |
|
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy
Cumber Lane, Whiston, Prescot, Merseyside, L35 2XG |
2.86 miles |
|
Willow Bank School
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3 miles |
|
Wade Deacon High School
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3.28 miles |
|
De La Salle School
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3.29 miles |
|
Cowley International College
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3.42 miles |
|
Outwood Academy Haydock
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3.45 miles |
|
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School
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3.46 miles |
|
The Raise Academy
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3.51 miles |
All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications
Willow Tree Primary School is part of The Three Saints Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:
What is Willow Tree Primary School's Ofsted rating?
The latest Ofsted rating for Willow Tree Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2022 of its predecessor, Willow Tree Primary School.
When was Willow Tree Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?
Willow Tree Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.
How many pupils does Willow Tree Primary School have?
Willow Tree Primary School has 172 pupils on roll.
What age range does Willow Tree Primary School cover?
Willow Tree Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.
What are Willow Tree Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?
In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.
Where is Willow Tree Primary School?
Willow Tree Primary School is at Willow Tree Avenue, Leach Lane, Sutton Leach, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 4LZ.