Holy Spirit Catholic Academy

About Holy Spirit Catholic Academy

Ofsted's Parent View responses for Holy Spirit Catholic Academy, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, show that 93% of the 14 parents who completed the survey would recommend the school. That's a strong vote of confidence, and it's backed up by the detail: 92% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy at the school, and 93% felt their child does well there. The school is also oversubscribed, with 25 applications for 14 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving a ratio of 1.79 applicants per place. All eight first-preference applicants were offered a spot, which suggests that for families who put it top of their list, the school is a realistic option. The headteacher is Lindsey Chellew, and the school is a Roman Catholic primary for children aged 3 to 11, located in the Sefton borough.

Academically, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2024 rated it Good across all five graded areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a significant turnaround from its previous inspection in 2019, when the school was rated Inadequate overall. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 38% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That's well below the Sefton local authority average of 59%, and the school ranks 53rd out of 59 primary schools in the borough. Individual subject scores were more mixed: 52% reached the expected standard in reading and in writing, while 48% did so in maths. No pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, and the proportion reaching the higher standard in individual subjects was low, with 14% in maths and 10% in reading.

The school has a capacity of 262 but currently only 164 pupils on roll, so there is room for growth. It offers a nursery provision for younger children, and facilities include a sensory room, a forest school area, a chapel, a library, an ICT suite and music rooms. Clubs include book club, coding, drama and choir, while sports on offer are rounders, football, cross country, cricket and netball. The school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 69.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage. This is a school that has made real progress in its Ofsted rating and is clearly valued by its current parents, but its academic results are below the local average, so families prioritising strong KS2 outcomes may want to weigh that carefully.

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