SCHOOL PROFILE

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Upton

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 105068
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 225 Published school capacity
Capacity used 88.0% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

16 October 2024
Latest published outcome Standards maintained
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Wirral
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 198 198 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 95 48.0% of pupils
Male pupils 103 52.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

24.7%
0.1 pts below England
School 24.7%
Wirral 32.1%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

10.6%
9.7 pts below England
School 10.6%
Wirral 7.3%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Wirral 0.2%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
76.8%
152
Indian
7.6%
15
Any other Asian background
5.1%
10
White and Asian
3.0%
6
Any other ethnic group
2.5%
5
Any other Mixed background
2.0%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 15.2% 30 of 198 pupils
5.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.2%
Wirral 25.9%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.1% 18 pupils
England 14.8% 5.7 pts below
EHC plans 6.1% 12 pupils
England 6.0% 0.0 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 10
No specialist assessment yet 8
Social, emotional & mental health 7
Moderate learning difficulty 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 1
Other difficulty or disability 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

55.0% 5.4 pts below England
School 55.0%
Wirral 53.3%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

77.0%

3.2 pts above England

School 77.0%
Wirral 69.0%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

59.0%

11.3 pts below England

School 59.0%
Wirral 63.5%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

70.0%

2.0 pts below England

School 70.0%
Wirral 64.9%
North West 71.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.84%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.38 pts lower than England
School 4.84%
Wirral 7.24%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

8.78%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

7.04 pts lower than England
School 8.78%
Wirral 19.16%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.49%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.32 pts lower than England
School 0.49%
Wirral 2.02%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

88.0% 0.2 pts below England
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Upton
88.0%
Wirral
87.3%
North West
90.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information