Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery
Hall Lane, Cronton, Widnes, WA8 5DW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Rooney
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Widnes and Halewood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 216
- URN
- 104454
- Local authority
- Knowsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514243926
About this school
Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Widnes. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 216 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 29 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 69% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 10% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 83% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 79% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 79% | 94% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Knowsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 57.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 222 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 224 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery compares
Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery ranked 11th of 48 primary schools in Knowsley for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 4.4% | 12.2% | 216 | — |
| Cronton Church of England Primary Academy | 65% | 4.4% | 8.2% | 233 | 0.2 miles |
| All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 46% | 6.9% | 54.6% | 182 | 0.9 miles |
| St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School | 78% | 4.6% | 11.4% | 279 | 1.2 miles |
| St Basil's Catholic Primary School | 62% | 4.6% | 55.6% | 223 | 1.2 miles |
| Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School | 67% | 3.3% | 7.7% | 414 | 1.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.18%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.43%
- Persistent absence
- 7.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cronton Church of England Primary Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Widnes
- 0.9 miles
-
St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Prescot
-
St Basil's Catholic Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Widnes
-
Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Widnes
Other schools in Widnes
Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery ranks 7th of the 19 ranked primary schools in Widnes.
- All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cronton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Ditton Primary School Primary
- Fairfield Primary School Primary
- Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Halebank CofE Primary School Primary
- Kingsway Primary Academy School Primary
- Lunts Heath Primary School Primary
- Moorfield Primary School Primary
- Oakfield Community Primary School Primary
- Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Basil's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery teach?
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Widnes.
- Who is the headteacher of Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery?
- The headteacher of Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery is Mrs Helen Rooney, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery?
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery has 216 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery full?
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery has capacity for 240 pupils and 216 on roll (90%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery a faith school?
- Yes. Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery rank locally?
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery ranked 11th of 48 primary schools in Knowsley for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery's absence rate?
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.