SCHOOL PROFILE

St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary & Nursery School

Primary Academy converter URN 140896
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 240 Published school capacity
Capacity used 87.1% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

12 March 2025
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Outstanding
Leadership & management Outstanding
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

25 February 2020
Graded inspection Good
Published 23 June 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Cheshire West and Chester
Trust HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 209 185 full-time · 24 part-time
Female pupils 104 49.8% of pupils
Male pupils 105 50.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

33.0%
8.2 pts above England
School 33.0%
Cheshire West and Chester 18.7%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

22.5%
2.2 pts above England
School 22.5%
Cheshire West and Chester 7.9%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

3.8%
2.8 pts above England
School 3.8%
Cheshire West and Chester 1.6%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
69.9%
146
Any other White background
9.6%
20
African
6.7%
14
Indian
2.9%
6
Any other Mixed background
1.9%
4
Any other ethnic group
1.9%
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 19.1% 40 of 209 pupils
1.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 19.1%
Cheshire West and Chester 21.1%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.3% 34 pupils
England 14.8% 1.5 pts above
EHC plans 2.9% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 3.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Moderate learning difficulty 18
Social, emotional & mental health 9
Autistic spectrum disorder 6
No specialist assessment yet 4
Speech, language & communication 2
Physical 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

61.0% 0.6 pts above England
School 61.0%
Cheshire West and Chester 59.2%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

78.0%

4.2 pts above England

School 78.0%
Cheshire West and Chester 75.1%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

70.0%

0.3 pts below England

School 70.0%
Cheshire West and Chester 69.7%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

78.0%

6.0 pts above England

School 78.0%
Cheshire West and Chester 71.2%
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

5.28%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.94 pts lower than England
School 5.28%
Cheshire West and Chester 6.16%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

14.37%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

1.44 pts lower than England
School 14.37%
Cheshire West and Chester 15.25%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Cheshire West and Chester 1.74%
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

87.1% 1.1 pts below England
St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary & Nursery School
87.1%
Cheshire West and Chester
89.2%
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