St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School
Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, CM15 9BY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Ms A McAuliffe
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Brentwood and Ongar
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 206
- Pupils on roll
- 173
- URN
- 115307
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01277215626
About this school
St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Brentwood. It teaches children aged 3 to 7 and has 173 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 233 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 187 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 3.6% | 10.2% | 173 | — |
| St Helen's Catholic Junior School | 78% | 4% | 13% | 344 | 0.0 miles |
| St Thomas of Canterbury Church of England Aided Primary School, Brentwood | 69% | 5.7% | 22.8% | 510 | 0.2 miles |
| Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School | 93% | 3% | 1.7% | 420 | 0.7 miles |
| Larchwood Primary School | 66% | 5.2% | 20.1% | 420 | 0.8 miles |
| Hogarth Primary School | 65% | 6.7% | 25.6% | 211 | 1.0 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)
- 10.16%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.6%
- Persistent absence
- 7.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Helen's Catholic Junior School0.0 miles
Primary · Brentwood
-
St Thomas of Canterbury Church of England Aided Primary School, Brentwood0.2 miles
Primary · Brentwood
-
Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Brentwood
-
Larchwood Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Brentwood
-
Hogarth Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Brentwood
Other schools in Brentwood
- Bentley St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School Primary
- Doddinghurst Infant School Primary
- Hogarth Primary School Primary
- Holly Trees Primary School Primary
- Hutton All Saints' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ingrave Johnstone Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Kelvedon Hatch Community Primary School Primary
- Larchwood Primary School Primary
- Long Ridings Primary School Primary
- Mountnessing Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School teach?
- St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 7. It is a primary school in Brentwood.
- Who is the headteacher of St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School?
- The headteacher of St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School is Ms A McAuliffe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School, 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 St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School?
- St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School has 173 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 7.
- Is St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School full?
- St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School has capacity for 206 pupils and 173 on roll (84%), 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 St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School a faith school?
- Yes. St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Does St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- What is St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School's absence rate?
- St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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 30 June 2026.