SCHOOL PROFILE

Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 138081
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 371 Published school capacity
Capacity used 83.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

6 January 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Strong standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

3 November 2021
Graded inspection Good
Published 19 December 2021
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Leicester
Trust ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 310 310 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 158 51.0% of pupils
Male pupils 152 49.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

21.3%
3.5 pts below England
School 21.3%
Leicester 27.7%
East Midlands 25.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

76.1%
55.8 pts above England
School 76.1%
Leicester 53.6%
East Midlands 18.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Leicester 0.6%
East Midlands 0.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Indian
62.3%
193
African
8.4%
26
White British
6.5%
20
Any other Black background
5.5%
17
Any other Asian background
2.9%
9
Any other White background
2.9%
9
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 27.4% 85 of 310 pupils
6.6 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 27.4%
Leicester 17.0%
East Midlands 19.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 22.3% 69 pupils
England 14.8% 7.5 pts above
EHC plans 5.2% 16 pupils
England 6.0% 0.9 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 35
Social, emotional & mental health 16
Moderate learning difficulty 15
Specific learning difficulty 12
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
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

66.0% 5.6 pts above England
School 66.0%
Leicester 57.9%
East Midlands 59.2%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

79.0%

5.2 pts above England

School 79.0%
Leicester 70.4%
East Midlands 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

71.0%

0.7 pts above England

School 71.0%
Leicester 67.0%
East Midlands 69.9%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

82.0%

10.0 pts above England

School 82.0%
Leicester 70.9%
East Midlands 71.5%
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

6.35%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.13 pts higher than England
School 6.35%
Leicester 6.66%
East Midlands 5.90%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

19.38%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.56 pts higher than England
School 19.38%
Leicester 18.63%
East Midlands 14.53%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.56%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.24 pts lower than England
School 1.56%
Leicester 2.18%
East Midlands 1.72%
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

83.6% 4.6 pts below England
Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy
83.6%
Leicester
94.9%
East Midlands
86.8%
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