SCHOOL PROFILE

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 106461
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 106.4% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

31 March 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

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

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 447 417 full-time · 30 part-time
Female pupils 229 51.2% of pupils
Male pupils 218 48.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

28.2%
3.4 pts above England
School 28.2%
Wigan 29.4%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

35.3%
15.0 pts above England
School 35.3%
Wigan 11.9%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Wigan 0.5%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
58.8%
263
Indian
13.9%
62
African
8.9%
40
Any other White background
5.1%
23
Any other Asian background
3.1%
14
Chinese
2.7%
12
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 17.7% 79 of 447 pupils
3.2 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.7%
Wigan 22.5%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 14.5% 65 pupils
England 14.8% 0.2 pts below
EHC plans 3.1% 14 pupils
England 6.0% 2.9 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 31
Social, emotional & mental health 22
No specialist assessment yet 10
Autistic spectrum disorder 7
Hearing impairment 2
Moderate 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

64.0% 3.6 pts above England
School 64.0%
Wigan 63.2%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

77.0%

3.2 pts above England

School 77.0%
Wigan 74.8%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

68.0%

2.3 pts below England

School 68.0%
Wigan 72.0%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

74.0%

2.0 pts above England

School 74.0%
Wigan 75.5%
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

5.07%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.14 pts lower than England
School 5.07%
Wigan 6.03%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

14.21%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

1.61 pts lower than England
School 14.21%
Wigan 15.01%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.84%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.97 pts lower than England
School 0.84%
Wigan 1.55%
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

106.4% 18.2 pts above England
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School
106.4%
Wigan
96.7%
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