St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale
Flamstead, Birch Green, Skelmersdale, WN8 6PF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Clare Williams
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 196
- URN
- 119586
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695721323
About this school
St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Skelmersdale. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 196 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 July 2022, 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 | 28 | 25 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 48% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 12% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 60% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 68% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 68% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.30 | - | - |
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 St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 201 |
| 2023/24 | 201 |
| 2024/25 | 190 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale compares
St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale ranked 122nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 7.9% | 48.8% | 196 | — |
| Woodland Community Primary School | 69% | 8.2% | 49.4% | 335 | 0.3 miles |
| Hillside Community Primary School | 52% | 7.1% | 62% | 151 | 0.4 miles |
| Delph Side Community Primary School | 73% | 5.8% | 54.6% | 251 | 0.5 miles |
| St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School | 7% | 12.5% | 57.4% | 145 | 0.7 miles |
| Cobbs Brow School | 74% | 5.8% | 26.4% | 308 | 0.9 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)
- 48.77%
- English as an additional language
- 27.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.91%
- Persistent absence
- 22.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woodland Community Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Hillside Community Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Delph Side Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Cobbs Brow School0.9 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
Other schools in Skelmersdale
St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale ranks 9th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Skelmersdale.
- Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brookfield Park Primary School Primary
- Cobbs Brow School Primary
- Crawford Village Primary School Primary
- Crow Orchard Primary School Primary
- Delph Side Community Primary School Primary
- Hillside Community Primary School Primary
- Holland Moor Primary School Primary
- Little Digmoor Primary School Primary
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School Primary
- St Edmund's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale teach?
- St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Skelmersdale.
- Who is the headteacher of St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale?
- The headteacher of St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is Mrs Clare Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 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 John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale?
- St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale has 196 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale full?
- St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale has capacity for 210 pupils and 196 on roll (93%), 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 John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale a faith school?
- Yes. St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale as having nursery classes.
- How have St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale rank locally?
- St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale ranked 122nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's absence rate?
- St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale'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 30 June 2026.