School Chooser

Eaves Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil233 pupilsNurserySt HelensSt. Helens
School Chooser Score
68
Above
similar schools
Likely range 43 to 84, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 71% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, February 2023
Reached the expected level at 1179%England 63%
Attendance95.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families22%A bit fewer than most schools
PlacesFull233 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher25.4School workforce census

Eaves Primary School is a council school in St Helens for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 233 pupils, 23 more than it has places for. About 22 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 68 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 71% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Eaves Lane, Marshalls Cross, Eaves Primary School, Eaves Lane, St Helens, Wa9 3ub, St Helens, WA9 3UB01744 678260eaves.st-helens.sch.ukMrs Melissa Lawrenson headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 23 February 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

29 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1179%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 60%60%20172018: 60%60%20182019: 72%72%20192023: 80%80%20232024: 70%70%20242025: 79%79%2025
Since 2017: +19%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017St. HelensEngland
Pupils tested293030293030
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths79%70%80%72%60%60%63%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%10%7%7%20%10%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0108.0107.0104.0104.0104.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0106.0108.0108.0107.0107.0104.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0106.0106.0108.0106.0108.0104.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard86%87%87%79%67%67%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard86%83%93%90%90%87%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)90%77%80%90%77%80%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.5+0.0+2.0+1.4
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.2+3.1+5.5+3.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged67%73%63%38%40%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged71%84%85%76%80%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
80%79%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full209 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
100% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

The last child to get a place lived 0.7 miles away in 2025. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2025. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 0.7 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.

EntryPlacesPut it firstApplied at allHow far the last child livedSource
2025 Primary3037990.7 milesLA

What a home within 0.7 miles of the school costs

Typical sale price within 0.7 miles of the school£195,000half sold for £155k to £270k
Homes sold355December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+3%a typical home in the district sells for £190,000

Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll233Census January 2026
Places210111% full
Pupils from low-income families22%22% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English9%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support14%32 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%9 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.67 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils14%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)24%£77,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls102 / 131
White British pupils86%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (22), Moderate learning difficulty (9), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), Vision impairment (2), Autistic spectrum disorder (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll233225236220231235
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals22%22%20%24%22%18%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language9%8%5%4%4%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%22%21%17%16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%3%2%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school10.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.9%4.8%4.6%5.3%2.8%3.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.6%3.3%3.1%3.6%1.9%1.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.5%1.5%1.7%0.9%1.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence10.0%9.8%9.5%12.2%7.7%6.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.90.53.51.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers9.0full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher25.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,811
Teachers who left in the year10%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.62024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,108England £7,738. Total £1.6m
Income per pupil£7,298England £7,697. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,135England £3,480
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £110k, £494 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£42kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,108spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m22212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate76 per 1,000 people17% lower than the England average
Nearest bus stop110 mHolbrook Close, 19 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Sherdley Primary SchoolCouncil350 m429Good 202325Compare
St Anne's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic900 m265Good 202219Compare
Robins Lane Community Primary SchoolCouncil950 m248Good 202036Compare
Willow Tree Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles172Requires improvement 202274Compare
St Theresa's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.9 miles209Report card 202650Compare
Sutton Oak CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England0.9 miles301Good 202344Compare
St John Vianney Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic1.1 miles195Report card 202660Compare
Sutton Manor Community Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles209Good 202216Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Eaves Primary School with the 45 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 45 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats71%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 68 is 10 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 10 · middle 57 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 45 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Eaves Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Bede's Catholic Infant SchoolRoman Catholic4.1 miles223Outstanding 202397Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic4.6 miles202Outstanding 202390Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 68 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 68% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 43 to 84. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
+0.07
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 29 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.08
DfE progress measure; 29 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.08
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.03
2024/25; 180 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 29 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Eaves Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Eaves Primary School scores 68 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 71% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 43 to 84, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Eaves Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Eaves Primary School good at its last full inspection on 23 February 2023.

How good are Eaves Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 79% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Eaves Primary School have?

233 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 111% full.

Is Eaves Primary School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?

Yes. For September 2025 the last place went to a child living 0.7 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.

What is attendance like at Eaves Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Eaves Primary School?

The average class had 29.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Eaves Lane, Marshalls Cross, Eaves Primary School, Eaves Lane, St Helens, Wa9 3ub, St Helens, WA9 3UB
Telephone
01744 678260
Website
www.eaves.st-helens.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Melissa Lawrenson
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
St. Helens
Ward
Sutton North West
Constituency
St Helens South and Whiston
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
104770 · LAESTAB 3422020 · UKPRN 10073119

Where these figures come from