Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #24 in Wirral public Top 26% UK

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Clare Higgins

location_onBirkenhead, CH41 7DU

language Visit Website phone 1516528454

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2022

groups

Students

158

school

Expected Standard

73%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Birkenhead, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 26% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Birkenhead, Wirral, admitting pupils aged 3-11. The school has approximately 181 pupils on roll, of whom 82% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 73% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #24 of 74 primaries in Wirral and #6,423 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2022. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 15.7:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

73%

LA 53%

Reading73% LA 69%

Writing80% LA 63%

Maths87% LA 65%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

71%

LA 50%England 61%

Reading71% LA 68% · Eng 74%

Writing71% LA 63% · Eng 72%

Maths79% LA 62% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

60%

LA 52%England 60%

Reading65% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing75% LA 64% · Eng 71%

Maths70% LA 64% · Eng 73%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.9

Read

LA -0.2

-4.8 to 1.0

1.2

Write

LA -0.8

-1.6 to 4.0

-0.3

Maths

LA -0.7

-3.1 to 2.4

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

53%

LA 56%England 65%

Reading67% LA 65% · Eng 73%

Writing67% LA 70% · Eng 78%

Maths60% LA 70% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.5

Read

LA -0.7

-2.8 to 3.7

0.2

Write

LA -1.1

-2.7 to 3.1

-3.6

Maths

LA -0.7

-6.4 to -0.7

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

43%

LA 56%

Reading52% LA 70%

Writing65% LA 72%

Maths48% LA 67%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.5

Read

LA -0.4

-4.9 to -0.1

-0.6

Write

LA -0.6

-2.9 to 1.7

-2.5

Maths

LA -0.8

-4.7 to -0.3

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

20 October 2022

Inspection Report

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06 November 2018

Inspection Report

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29 January 2014

Inspection Report

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04 July 2012

Inspection Report

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25 November 2009

Inspection Report

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11 November 2008

Inspection Report

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19 October 2005

Inspection Report

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12 June 2000

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2022-10-20

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2018-11-06

S5 Inspection Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2014-01-29

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 181 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	181	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	172	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	176	1	0.6%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	171	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	162	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	158	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	158	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	148	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	153	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	142	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	140	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	151	1	0.7%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	143	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	143	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	147	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	147	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	154	1	0.6%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	158	1	0.6%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	150	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	144	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	168	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	159	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	159	1	0.6%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	172	3	1.7%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	156	2	1.3%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	149	0	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 20 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 14 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 13 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Visual Impairment 2 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

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Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Roman Catholic)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Wirral

West Kirby Primary School

Poulton Lancelyn Primary School

Mersey Park Primary School

Brackenwood Junior School

Brookdale Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead