St Edmund's and St Thomas' Catholic Primary School

About St Edmund's and St Thomas' Catholic Primary School

St Edmund's and St Thomas' Catholic Primary School in Sefton is a mixed Roman Catholic state primary for ages 3 to 11, currently home to 273 pupils against a capacity of 341. That leaves a fair amount of physical headroom, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 65 applications for just 32 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.03. Of those applicants, 29 put it as their first preference, and exactly 29 first-preference offers were made, suggesting that almost everyone who wanted it most got in, but the overall competition is stiff. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 22.6%, which is notably higher than the national primary average of around 23% and likely above the Sefton average too, indicating the school serves a community with above-average economic disadvantage. With a nursery provision attached, it also draws families from the earliest stage, and the headteacher, Kieran Loftus, leads a school that has held a Good Ofsted rating across both its most recent inspections.

Academically, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2023 awarded a Good rating across all five graded categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a clean sweep of Good, with no Requires Improvement or Outstanding outliers. The previous inspection in November 2017 also rated overall effectiveness as Good, with leadership and management at Good and early years provision at Requires Improvement, so the early years have clearly strengthened since then. While the data doesn’t include specific KS2 SATs results or a Progress 8 score for this school, the local authority average for KS2 attainment in Sefton is 59, which gives a useful benchmark for parents comparing schools. Among Sefton’s 74 primary schools of the same type, only six are rated Outstanding, so a Good rating here places it in the solid majority. The nearest Outstanding alternative is Rimrose Hope CofE Primary School, 1.9 km away, which may be a consideration for families prioritising that top grade.

The school offers a practical range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios, a sensory room, and a chapel, alongside clubs like film, gardening, chess, science, and drama. Sports on offer include athletics, swimming, cross country, and dance. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND provisions are broad: the school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, visual impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties or disabilities. This suggests a genuinely inclusive approach, though parents should check the exact capacity and staffing for each category. Given the oversubscription, applying as a first preference is wise, especially for Catholic families who may have priority under the school’s religious character. This is a school that suits families who value a strong Catholic ethos, a Good-rated education, and a supportive environment for a wide range of learning needs, all within a community that is clearly keen to get in.

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