Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 April 2026

Pupils are warmly greeted by staff, who care about them, when they arrive at school each day. Pupils benefit from embedded routines at the start of the day that help ensure a positive start. Pupils appreciate staff who are on hand to address any concerns. They uphold the ethos that underpins the character of the school. Everyone is welcome and included in school. Pupils understand that the school has high expectations of their conduct. Typically, they behave in a calm and safe manner throughout the school day. Bullying is rare. Pupils know that it will be dealt with effectively and quickly if it occurs. Pupils develop their interests through the trips, visits and extra-curricular activities that the school offers. These include participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Post-16 students can take part in meditation and car maintenance. The school's ‘Golden Key’ initiative builds confidence for targeted groups of pupils and helps to raise their aspirations about their future plans. For too long, pupils have not achieved their potential in public examinations at the end of key stage 4. This includes groups of pupils for whom barriers to learning have not been successfully reduced. Furthermore, pupils have gaps in their knowledge that are not checked well enough. This is because teaching is not consistent. However, post-16 students achieve well. They benefit from sharp tracking processes that identify and address any gaps in learning. Too many pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. Leaders have taken appropriate action to strengthen systems to increase pupils’ attendance. This has reduced the number of pupils who are absent from school. Pupils have experienced significant changes to the leadership of their school. New systems have added coherence to pupils’ experiences of the school day. Information about pupils with additional needs is now identified and shared more consistently with staff. This helps pupils to get the support that they need to succeed.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should continue to strengthen their work to ensure more pupils attend school regularly so that they can learn the curriculum as planned and benefit from the wider opportunities the school provides.
• Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills that they need to be able to check what pupils know and can do consistently so that any gaps in knowledge are addressed promptly.
• Leaders should ensure that strategies to support pupils’ development of writing and mathematical knowledge are carried out consistently so that pupils are prepared for the next stage of their learning.
• Leaders should embed the strategies they use to identify barriers to pupils’ learning and/or wellbeing so that they can take appropriate actions quickly to reduce these.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)