St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School

About St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School

St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School is a state primary for children aged 7 to 11, located in the Liverpool local authority. It sits among 115 primary schools in the area, ranking 41st overall — placing it comfortably in the top half of Liverpool primaries. The school’s ranking score of 64 puts it within the top 50 tier locally, though it sits behind the three top-performing peers in the authority: Sudley Primary School, Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School in Woolton, and Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School, each of which scores in the low-to-mid 80s. St Francis de Sales is one of only eight primaries in Liverpool rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and its nearest fellow Outstanding school is St John's Catholic Primary School, just one kilometre away. The school is Roman Catholic in character, led by headteacher Andrew Reidel, and serves a diverse intake — 39.9 per cent of its 461 pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in November 2021, the school received the highest possible grade — Outstanding — across every single category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This continues a track record of excellence; the previous inspection in 2007 also judged the school Outstanding overall. Academically, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 64 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — above the Liverpool local authority average of 59 per cent. Pupils achieved an average reading score of 104 and an average maths score of 106. At the higher standard, 13 per cent of pupils achieved the combined benchmark, with 31 per cent reaching the higher standard in maths, 28 per cent in reading, and 22 per cent in writing. These figures reflect solid, above-average performance within the local context.

The school is well equipped for a junior setting, with facilities including a sports hall, dining hall, library, chapel, music rooms, playing fields, and a sensory room. Sports offered include gymnastics, football, dance and cricket, while clubs range from gardening and book club to coding and film club. The school’s SEND provision is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a capacity of 480 and 461 pupils on roll, the school is close to full but not oversubscribed. This is a strong, well-regarded Catholic primary that suits families seeking a proven Outstanding-rated school with a wide range of support and enrichment, particularly those within the Liverpool area who value a faith-based environment.

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