St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School, Liverpool

Ofsted's report card from its 24 February 2026 inspection grades St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School on 6 areas: 4 strong standard and 2 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders' work to improve attendance is effective."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious, broad and balanced."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders make sure that every pupil feels a strong sense of belonging to the school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Pupils benefit from a well-designed personal development programme that supports their moral, social and personal growth."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Pupils achieve well as they move through the curriculum."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders place pupils at the centre of their work and make decisions that reflect this."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well when compared to their non‑disadvantaged peers by helping staff to identify gaps in knowledge more precisely so these can be closed quickly"; "Leaders should ensure that they maintain high standards across the school and continue to drive further improvement so that all pupils, including those who need additional help, receive the support they need to achieve well".

The school runs after-school care until 4:45pm.

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils at St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School reached the expected standard in reading and 82% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 72% and 70% in Liverpool and 77% and 75% across England.

Results rose from 71% in reading and 79% in maths in 2024.

Across Liverpool, 89% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.

In 2026, families in Liverpool lodged 219 appeals against primary school offers; 83 reached a hearing and 5 succeeded (6% of those heard).

The nearest other state primary schools to St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School are St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School (under 0.1 miles, Outstanding); Arnot St Mary CofE Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 76% reading, 84% maths); Bedford Primary School (0.4 miles, 54% reading, 55% maths); and Gwladys Street Primary and Nursery School (0.5 miles, Good, 42% reading, 46% maths).

St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

34 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School (as of April 2026): 82% would recommend the school, 85% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).

41.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 116 pupils (25.2%) received SEN support and 20 (4.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

The nearest railway station is Kirkdale Rail Station, about 490 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Arundel Street (adjacent), 190 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 683 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Liverpool (342), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School issued 49 suspensions, 10.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School are Hillside High School (0.4 miles), Alsop High School (0.5 miles) and Notre Dame Catholic Academy (1.2 miles).