St Columba's Catholic Primary School

Knowsley · L36 8BL

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 224 pupils, 53.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10.3% on SEN support Behaviour 9.5% absence rate Staff 6.4% turnover Financials £8,276 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Columba's Catholic Primary School

General Information

Address: Hillside Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 8BL – View on map
Phone: 01514778360
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Kathryn Edwards
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 31 families put it first for 30 places – 10 for every 10 places. 94% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

224 pupils out of 249 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 107
% eligible for free school meals: 53.5%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Knowsley average)
English as an additional language: 17% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.4% a year (Knowsley 11.3%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Knowsley: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Knowsley, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 26.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 52% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 9 percentage points below the Knowsley average (61%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 48% against an expected 47%)
3-year average (expected standard): 48%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 70% · Writing 63% · Maths 56% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 44%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 100
Based on: 27 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolKnowsley averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 9 percentage points below the Knowsley average (61%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 37th of 47 junior and primary schools in the area

#36St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School53%
=37Park Brow Community Primary School52%
=37St Columba's Catholic Primary School52%
=39Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision)51%
=39St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School51%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Blacklow Brow School86%
=2Halewood Church of England Primary Academy83%
=2St Joseph's Catholic Primary School83%
#4Malvern Primary School80%
#5Evelyn Community Primary School79%
#6St Aloysius Catholic Primary School78%
#7St Margaret Mary's Catholic Junior School76%
#8St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community74%
#9St Gabriel's CofE Primary School71%
#10Holy Family Catholic Primary School70%
=11Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery68%
=11St Luke's Catholic Primary School68%
=13Huyton With Roby Church of England Primary School67%
=13St Mark's Catholic Primary School67%
=15Halsnead Primary School66%
=15Park View Academy66%
=15St Brigid's Catholic Primary School66%
#18Cronton Church of England Primary Academy65%
=19Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School64%
=19Knowsley Lane Primary School64%
=19Roby Park Primary School64%
#22Whiston Willis Primary Academy63%
#23Kirkby CofE Primary School62%
=24Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School59%
=24St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School59%
=26Sylvester Primary Academy58%
=26Westvale Primary School58%
#28Plantation Primary School57%
=29Eastcroft Park School56%
=29Millbrook Community Primary School56%
=29St John Fisher Catholic Primary School56%
=29St Laurence's Catholic Primary School56%
=29Willow Tree Primary School56%
=34Our Lady's Catholic Primary School54%
=34St Marie's Catholic Primary School54%
#36St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School53%
=37Park Brow Community Primary School52%
=37St Columba's Catholic Primary School52%
=39Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision)51%
=39St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School51%
#41St Aidan's Catholic Primary School48%
=42St Anne's Catholic Primary School47%
=42St Mary and St Paul's CofE Primary School47%
#44Knowsley Village School43%
#45Stockbridge Village Primary School36%
#46Ravenscroft Community Primary School32%
#47Yew Tree Primary Academy29%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,276 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 47 primary schools in Knowsley for spending per pupil

#6Stockbridge Village Primary School£8,495
#7St Marie's Catholic Primary School£8,478
#8St Columba's Catholic Primary School£8,276
#9St Brigid's Catholic Primary School£8,102
#10St Gabriel's CofE Primary School£8,090

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Yew Tree Primary Academy£10,333
#2Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision)£9,787
#3Westvale Primary School£8,943
#4St Mary and St Paul's CofE Primary School£8,790
#5Eastcroft Park School£8,504
#6Stockbridge Village Primary School£8,495
#7St Marie's Catholic Primary School£8,478
#8St Columba's Catholic Primary School£8,276
#9St Brigid's Catholic Primary School£8,102
#10St Gabriel's CofE Primary School£8,090
#11Park Brow Community Primary School£7,728
#12Knowsley Village School£7,696
#13Hope Primary School - A Joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School£7,673
#14Millbrook Community Primary School£7,620
#15St Aidan's Catholic Primary School£7,560
#16Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School£7,504
#17Ravenscroft Community Primary School£7,446
#18St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School£7,352
#19Willow Tree Primary School£7,335
#20St Mark's Catholic Primary School£7,298
#21Roby Park Primary School£7,279
#22St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School£7,185
#23St Aloysius Catholic Primary School£7,068
#24Sylvester Primary Academy£6,996
#25Halsnead Primary School£6,944
#26Kirkby CofE Primary School£6,933
#27St Luke's Catholic Primary School£6,920
#28Park View Academy£6,916
#29St John Fisher Catholic Primary School£6,858
#30Halewood Church of England Primary Academy£6,802
#31Evelyn Community Primary School£6,791
#32Blacklow Brow School£6,766
#33Plantation Primary School£6,738
#34Huyton With Roby Church of England Primary School£6,725
#35St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School£6,623
#36St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School Serving the Community£6,616
#37St Laurence's Catholic Primary School£6,599
#38St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£6,548
#39Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery£6,504
#40Cronton Church of England Primary Academy£6,238
#41Whiston Willis Primary Academy£6,157
#42St Anne's Catholic Primary School£6,149
#43Malvern Primary School£6,135
#44Holy Family Catholic Primary School£6,122
#45Our Lady's Catholic Primary School£5,965
#46Knowsley Lane Primary School£5,896
#47Prescot Primary School£3,787

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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