St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

About St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School is a state primary in Liverpool that serves children from age 3 to 7, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 judged it Good across all areas. That puts it in the majority of Liverpool primaries — only 8 out of 115 schools in the local authority hold an Outstanding rating, and this school was previously Outstanding itself in 2014 before dropping a grade. What stands out more directly is the school's intake profile: 35.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average, yet the school still achieves a Good rating. The local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment is 59, but since this is an infant school that only goes up to Year 2, there are no KS2 results to compare directly. Instead, the school's strength shows in its early years provision, which was rated Outstanding in the previous inspection and is now Good — a solid foundation for the youngest children.

Academically, the school's most recent Ofsted report gives a Good rating for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The early years provision is also Good, which matters for a school with a nursery attached. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 91% of the 22 respondents would recommend the school, and 95% strongly agree or agree that their child is happy here. On specific questions, 73% strongly agree that their child does well, and 68% strongly agree that pupils are well behaved. The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 162 applications for 112 places and 108 first-preference offers made from 109 first-preference applications — a ratio of 1.45 applicants per place, indicating strong local demand. There are no published SATs or Progress 8 scores because the school ends at Year 2, so parents should look to the junior school outcomes for later-stage academic data.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, dining hall, ICT suite, music rooms, art studios, and a chapel, reflecting its Roman Catholic character. Sports include rounders, athletics, swimming, dance, netball, cricket, and football, while clubs cover book club, film club, coding, choir, and science club. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder — though the parent view question on SEND support received no responses, so it's hard to gauge satisfaction there. The school is oversubscribed, so families applying should be aware of the Catholic admission criteria. It feeds into St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School, which is the nearest Outstanding-rated school just 0.1 km away, making this a natural two-school journey for families who want a consistent Catholic education from nursery through to age 11.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

Helpful Guides for Parents