SCHOOL PROFILE

St. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary School

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 104802
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 460 Published school capacity
Capacity used 82.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

1 March 2023
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority St. Helens
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 381 364 full-time · 17 part-time
Female pupils 188 49.3% of pupils
Male pupils 193 50.7% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

28.6%
3.8 pts above England
School 28.6%
St. Helens 27.1%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

11.0%
9.3 pts below England
School 11.0%
St. Helens 7.0%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

2.9%
1.9 pts above England
School 2.9%
St. Helens 2.1%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
84.5%
322
Any other Asian background
4.7%
18
Any other White background
3.4%
13
Unclassified
3.1%
12
African
1.0%
4
Any other ethnic group
1.0%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 18.4% 70 of 381 pupils
2.5 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 18.4%
St. Helens 25.1%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.3% 62 pupils
England 14.8% 1.5 pts above
EHC plans 2.1% 8 pupils
England 6.0% 3.9 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 38
Social, emotional & mental health 18
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
Other difficulty or disability 3
Physical disability 2
Specific learning difficulty 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

53.0% 7.4 pts below England
School 53.0%
St. Helens 60.3%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

74.0%

0.2 pts above England

School 74.0%
St. Helens 72.9%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

74.0%

3.7 pts above England

School 74.0%
St. Helens 73.1%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

62.0%

10.0 pts below England

School 62.0%
St. Helens 71.2%
North West 71.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.24%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.03 pts higher than England
School 7.24%
St. Helens 6.15%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

17.94%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.13 pts higher than England
School 17.94%
St. Helens 15.29%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.06%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.26 pts higher than England
School 2.06%
St. Helens 1.80%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

82.8% 5.4 pts below England
St. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary School
82.8%
St. Helens
88.3%
North West
90.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information