St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School
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St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School is a Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) in Brentwood for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 173 pupils and room for 206. About 9 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 75 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 67% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Sawyers Hall Lane, St. Helens Rc Infant School, Brentwood, CM15 9BY01277 215626st-helens-inf.essex.sch.ukMs Amanda McAuliffe headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 5 March 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
53 places were empty (22% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 23% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
How places were given out for September 2026. The last place was given under this rule: Criterion 9.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 60 | 170 | – | LA |
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (7), language and communications needs (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 173 | 187 | 212 | 233 | 243 | 250 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 9% | 10% | 11% | 10% | 9% | 10% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 6% | 10% | 11% | 13% | 10% | 14% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 6% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 4% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 3.6% | 3.3% | 4.8% | 5.5% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.5% | 2.4% | 3.6% | 4.7% | 2.5% | 2.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 7.3% | 4.4% | 8.6% | 11.4% | 4.6% | 1.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helen's Catholic Junior School | Academy | 40 m | 344 | Good 2023 | 87 | Compare |
| St Thomas of Canterbury Church of England Aided Primary School, Brentwood | Church of England | 300 m | 510 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
| Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 420 | Outstanding 2023 | 100 | Compare |
| Larchwood Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 420 | Good 2024 | 56 | Compare |
| Hogarth Primary School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 211 | No overall grade 2025 | 37 | Compare |
| Holly Trees Primary School | Council | 1.4 miles | 417 | Good 2023 | 62 | Compare |
| Long Ridings Primary School | Council | 1.5 miles | 392 | Good 2024 | 87 | Compare |
| St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, South Weald | Church of England | 1.7 miles | 454 | Report card 2025 | 99 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery 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.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 75 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 75% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 49 to 89. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.08 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.22 | 2024/25; 137 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School scores 75 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 67% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 49 to 89, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School good at its last full inspection on 5 March 2024.
How many pupils does St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School have?
173 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 206 places, so it is 84% full.
Is St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 53 places were empty in 2024/25 (22% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School?
Pupils were in school 96.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at St Helen's Catholic Infant & Nursery School?
The average class had 29.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 25% 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
- Sawyers Hall Lane, St. Helens Rc Infant School, Brentwood, CM15 9BY
- Telephone
- 01277 215626
- Website
- www.st-helens-inf.essex.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Amanda McAuliffe
- Type of school
- Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Diocese of Brentwood
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Brentwood North
- Constituency
- Brentwood and Ongar
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 115307 · LAESTAB 8815267 · UKPRN 10080355
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Essex council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.