St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School
Blakehall, Skelmersdale, WN8 9AZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Ann Naylor
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 330
- Pupils on roll
- 145
- URN
- 134598
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695558560
About this school
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Skelmersdale. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 145 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
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 | 18 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 43% | 50% | 7% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 72% | 30% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 67% | 20% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 57% | 72% | 33% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 101.0 | 95.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.70 | - | - |
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 Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 164 |
| 2023/24 | 156 |
| 2024/25 | 170 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School compares
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School ranked 445th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 4% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 7% | 12.5% | 57.4% | 145 | — |
| Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School | 65% | 6.8% | 57% | 189 | 0.2 miles |
| Hillside Community Primary School | 52% | 7.1% | 62% | 151 | 0.4 miles |
| Little Digmoor Primary School | 32% | 10.5% | 67.2% | 138 | 0.4 miles |
| Moorside Community Primary Academy School | 59% | 5.8% | 54.2% | 256 | 0.4 miles |
| Delph Side Community Primary School | 73% | 5.8% | 54.6% | 251 | 0.5 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)
- 57.35%
- English as an additional language
- 17.6%
- Overall absence
- 12.49%
- Persistent absence
- 34.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Hillside Community Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Little Digmoor Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Moorside Community Primary Academy School0.4 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Delph Side Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
Other schools in Skelmersdale
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School ranks 18th 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 James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Skelmersdale.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School is Mrs Ann Naylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary 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 Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School?
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School has 145 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School full?
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School has capacity for 330 pupils and 145 on roll (44%), 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 Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School have?
- The schools register lists St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 43% in 2022/23 and 7% 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 Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School ranked 445th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 4% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% 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 Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 12.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School'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 1 July 2026.