Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

Address: Charles Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1LN Unique reference number (URN): 104804

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders take swift and effective action to reduce absence levels. They have a detailed understanding of the barriers some pupils face to attending school. Leaders have quickly established highly effective partnership work with families and external support. This has supported leaders to take effective action to address any barriers. As a result, the proportion of pupils who miss large chunks of their education is declining.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders’ high expectations for pupils’ positive behaviour are lived out across the school. Staff and pupils demonstrate their understanding of the school’s values, ‘we care, we share, we value.’ This starts in the early years where children learn how to take turns and listen to each other. Pupils are polite and well-mannered. They are keen to learn. Incidents of bullying are rare. Where this does occur, this is addressed swiftly and effectively.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Rates of suspensions have been significantly higher than national averages over time. There has been a demonstrable reduction in the number of suspensions this academic year. Staff apply the school's behaviour system consistently. Leaders work to establish a shared understanding of strategies to support and respond to pupils’ behaviour is evident across the school. Pupils who find it more challenging to manage their own behaviour are supported gently and sensitively. They benefit from a range of effective provision so that they are ready to learn.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders have ensured that children in the early years benefit from an effective curriculum. They have addressed instabilities in staffing as a priority. In addition, through engagement with parents and carers, they have increased the consistency and timeliness of the identification of any additional needs which pupils may have. This includes children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Early years Expected standard

Children in the early years settle quickly. They are well supported to develop their confidence and independence. The school prioritises developing children's knowledge in reading, writing and vocabulary. Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills from the very start. Children in the Nursery class join in with rhymes and songs to help develop their early language. This prepares them well for learning phonics as soon as they enter the Reception Year. Staff provide opportunities for children to respond to questions. They intervene skilfully to address misconceptions as they arise. New vocabulary is introduced and modelled carefully. Careful and precise checks inform well-matched support to address any barriers to pupils’ learning and development. As a result, children in the early years are typically well prepared for the challenges of key stage 1. Children who struggle to secure the most important skills that they need for their future learning receive

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Early years Expected standard

effective targeted support as they move into Year 1.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Supporting pupils to be included and valued as part of the school community has been at the forefront of leaders’ work since joining the school. They ensure that any barriers to learning or wellbeing that pupils may experience are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity. For example, children joining the school, including those who speak English as an additional language, access well-matched and tailored support to quickly develop their language and communication skills.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have supported staff to increase their understanding of the specific barriers which individual pupils may have. Much work has been completed to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are identified at the earliest opportunity. This work is increasingly informing the emotional and academic support that pupils receive. Regular and precise checks on this work ensure that leaders are able to tailor support for pupils in an informed way. Leaders recognise that further work is needed to support staff to be more confident in adapting their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Working closely with parents and carers and external agencies, leaders have quickly established productive partnerships to support their work in this area. As a result of this work, additional funding is used effectively to provide appropriate support for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils who need additional support to settle or engage in learning are provided with timely and well-considered strategies to succeed. This includes a focus on helping pupils to recognise and regulate their emotions.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders prioritise opportunities for pupils to broaden their experiences beyond the academic curriculum. From early years to Year 6, pupils benefit from carefully designed opportunities to develop their understanding of the wider world. They learn what it means to live in a modern and diverse society. Pupils understand that people have different families, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. Pupils develop a mature understanding of the importance of equality and tolerance. They understand democracy and how this relates to their opportunities to vote in school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn, in an age appropriate way, how to develop safe and healthy relationships. Older pupils are taught about the changes that will happen to them as they grow up. Pupils understand how to be safe near roads and in water. They also learn how to work and play safely online.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils are proud of the wide range of sporting tournaments and competitions at which they represent their school. For example, pupils are delighted by their recent success in a boccia competition. Leaders and staff are proactive in monitoring and increasing participation in these activities by all groups of pupils. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils value the support that they receive to look after their mental as well as their physical health. They talk confidently about the ways that staff support them with this. For example, how to seek advice and express how they feel. Pupils learn to recognise and acknowledge

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Needs attention

their emotions. They appreciate the strategies they are taught to enable them to do this successfully. Pupils who may benefit from additional support with their wellbeing are identified quickly. Skilled staff work closely with parents and carers and external agencies to provide this support in a timely and sensitive manner.

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Achievement Needs attention

Published results show that pupils' outcomes in national tests have been significantly below national averages in most areas over the last 3 years. Too many pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, leave the school ill-prepared for their next steps in education.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils' progress through the curriculum has been hampered by their uneven experiences in learning over time. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 continue to have significant gaps in their knowledge, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. These gaps are not identified or closed swiftly enough. This has been identified by leaders and work is under way to address these inconsistencies. Across the curriculum, pupils are increasingly receiving a more consistent experience in their lessons. This is evident in pupils’ understanding when they talk confidently about their current learning in lessons. For example, they are able to explain some of their recent learning in geography, science and history.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff do not address pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge consistently well enough before they move on to new learning. Support for pupils who struggle to read, spell or develop their early number skills is not always well matched to their individual gaps in learning. As a result, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, continue to develop gaps in their knowledge across the curriculum. In addition, staff are not typically confident in adapting their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. Leaders have begun to address inconsistencies in the learning experiences that pupils receive. However, these improvements are recent and have not had time to have an impact on pupils’ learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Subject curriculums, including for English and mathematics, are designed to help pupils to build knowledge logically over time. Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are supported to develop a love of reading through ‘fireside Fridays’, use of the new school library and the ‘birthday bookcase’. There is an increased focus on supporting pupils to secure the key knowledge and skills that they need for their future learning across the curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Over time, governors have not provided sufficient challenge or support to improve the quality of education for pupils at the school. While their statutory duties are met, governors have not sufficiently focused on ensuring that the offer provided by the school has a positive impact for its pupils. As a result, their oversight of the school’s work has not had enough impact on improving pupils’ achievement and experiences during their time at the school.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The school has been through a period of considerable change since it was last inspected. This includes changes in the leadership of the school. Leaders have swiftly identified and prioritised the most important aspects of school improvement. Working closely with the local authority and archdiocese, they have taken decisive action to address the weaknesses in the school’s offer to its pupils. There has been rapid improvement in a short space of time. Decisions and changes have been focused on the best interests of all pupils, including those who may experience barriers to their wellbeing, attendance or learning. However, much of this work, including improvements to the training and support that staff receive, is at an early stage. It is too soon to see the impact of this on pupils’ learning and achievement.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Despite the recent turbulence and changes, staff feel valued. They are positive about workload and wellbeing and the support that they receive. Parents and carers are also positive. They particularly appreciate the increased opportunities they have to share in their children’s learning through ‘learn and share’ events.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils play a large part in making this school the welcoming learning community that it is. They are keen to be recognised as ‘star of the week’ for meeting the school’s high expectations of behaviour. Older pupils are proud to be buddies for younger children in the school. They strive to set a positive example for their peers.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils’ achievement. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is because, over time, pupils have not benefited from learning that builds their knowledge securely, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. In addition, some pupils who face barriers to their learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not receive the support that they need to succeed. Leaders have recently strengthened teaching approaches to address this. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work. Pupils’ learning across a range of subjects is uneven as a result.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils trust the caring staff to listen to any worries that they may have. They are clear that bullying is not an issue at the school. Pupils know that staff deal quickly with any fall outs or upset that pupils experience. This helps pupils to feel secure and safe. Most pupils attend school regularly. They are keen to ‘race to five’ with their classmates in recognition of this.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils who represent their classmates on the school council, or have other responsibilities in school, take their roles seriously. For example, they have recently worked with leaders to make improvements to the school’s playground. These roles develop pupils’ confidence and prepare them for life beyond school. Pupils are encouraged to ‘be who they want to be’. They aspire to become scientists, economists and engineers. Pupils also benefit from experiences that bring their learning to life, such as theatre shows and visits from poets and to museums.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure that staff receive the necessary professional learning to support them to draw on their knowledge of pupils' starting points and individual needs to design and adapt learning so that pupils are supported to learn all that they can. • Leaders should take appropriate action to ensure that those pupils who have not secured the necessary foundational knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics receive appropriate support to secure this knowledge, so that pupils’ achievement is improved. • Those responsible for governance should ensure that they gain the skills and expertise required to provide constructive and effective support and challenge to hold leaders to account to improve the school's educational offer for pupils.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Yvonne Allen.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our updated inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the interim executive headteacher, interim head of school and other school leaders and staff during the inspection. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority, a representative of the archdiocese and the school’s improvement partner.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Catholic religious character. The school is voluntary aided and is part of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The last section 48 inspection took place in February 2025.

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About this inspection

Since the previous inspection, there have been a number of changes to leadership and staffing. A new interim executive headteacher and interim head of school have been appointed from September 2025. The chair of governors has been in post from November 2024 and the vice chair of governors has been in post from September 2025.

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About this inspection

The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Sinead Walsh: Interim executive headteacher

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Team inspectors:

Julie Brown, Ofsted Inspector Sue Mills, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 72% 74% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 57% 63% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 57% 59% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 50% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 50% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 47% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 5.4% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.5% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 6.0% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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