SchoolFacts.uk

St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School

Primary · Skelmersdale · WN8 0HX

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 22 February 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

211 pupils · 89% of 238 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
27.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
7.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
9.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.stthomasthemartyr.org
URN
119495

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 23 families named it first for 23 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 22 February 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

23 places offered · 23 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

25 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
76%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
8%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
107
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
106
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school76%
Median of its 12 closest peers66%
Lancashire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
West End AcademyPontefract · 57 miles awayNo current grade73%
Brotherton and Byram Community Primary AcademyKnottingley · 61 miles awayGood48%
Gatcombe Park Primary SchoolPortsmouth · 200 miles awayGood63%
Forest Glade Primary SchoolSutton-in-Ashfield · 67 miles awayNo current grade93%
Stanton Primary SchoolBurton-on-Trent · 71 miles awayNeeds attention43%
Millfields Primary AcademyNantwich · 34 miles awayGood71%
Palmarsh Primary SchoolHythe · 234 miles awayGood (2016)67%
Whitchurch Primary SchoolBristol · 148 miles awayNo current grade65%
The Reginald Mitchell Primary SchoolStoke-on-Trent · 37 miles awayGood79%
Rochford Primary and Nursery SchoolRochford · 198 miles awayStrong standard77%
St Paul's CofE Primary SchoolBradford · 42 miles awayGood (2016)54%
Broseley CofE Primary SchoolBroseley · 65 miles awayGood50%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (Lancashire 74%, England 60%) · Any other White background 5% (Lancashire 3%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Lancashire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
11.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.91 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Lancashire: 2.62 suspensions and 0.07 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

84% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 16% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

77.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,264; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£7,522
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £122,358; in-year balance +£897

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher24.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications25.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work24.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways26.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health46.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier52.1%62.3%
Social housing38.7%17.1%
Privately rented8.9%20.5%
Detached houses17.9%22.9%
Flats14.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms16.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van30.4%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025536 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£229,000193 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£175,000–£287,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (67)£305,000
Semi-detached (76)£213,500
Terraced (47)£155,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
1an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
12an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools