SCHOOL PROFILE

St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 150505
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 232 Published school capacity
Capacity used 74.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 7 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

8 June 2022
Latest published outcome Requires improvement
OEIF
Quality of education Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Requires improvement
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority St. Helens
Trust THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 173 158 full-time · 15 part-time
Female pupils 84 48.6% of pupils
Male pupils 89 51.4% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

11.6%
13.2 pts below England
School 11.6%
St. Helens 27.1%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

7.5%
12.8 pts below England
School 7.5%
St. Helens 7.0%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
St. Helens 2.1%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
78.6%
136
Any other White background
5.8%
10
African
5.2%
9
Any other Mixed background
4.0%
7
Any other Asian background
1.2%
2
Any other Black background
1.2%
2
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 17.3% 30 of 173 pupils
3.5 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.3%
St. Helens 25.1%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 11.6% 20 pupils
England 14.8% 3.2 pts below
EHC plans 5.8% 10 pupils
England 6.0% 0.3 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 18
Social, emotional & mental health 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 2
Other difficulty or disability 2
Moderate learning difficulty 1
Multi-sensory impairment 1

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.

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

3.56%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.66 pts lower than England
School 3.56%
St. Helens 6.15%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

5.41%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

10.41 pts lower than England
School 5.41%
St. Helens 15.29%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
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

74.6% 13.6 pts below England
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
74.6%
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