St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School is a nurturing and inclusive primary where pupils feel safe, happy and valued, and where a strong community ethos promotes kindness and respect. Inspectors found a calm, purposeful environment in which pupils achieve well and meet high expectations. Personal development is a standout strength, supported by a thoughtfully planned programme and rich cultural experiences, while leadership and governance are highly effective and staff feel well supported. The curriculum is ambitious and particularly well sequenced in English and mathematics, teaching is skilled, early reading is strong, and pupils with SEND receive tailored support so they can access the full curriculum. Early years provision is good and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main concern is attendance. Persistent absence remains too high for some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, despite decisive action and close work with families. The wider curriculum is still being developed: in some subjects, checking and revisiting of learning is inconsistent, which limits how securely pupils retain knowledge over time. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is a Catholic primary working in close partnership with other local Catholic schools.

Strengths

• Nurturing and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe, happy and valued
• Strong community ethos that promotes kindness and respect
• Pupils achieve well and meet high expectations
• Calm and purposeful learning environment with enthusiastic, curious pupils
• Ambitious and carefully designed curriculum, particularly well sequenced in English and mathematics
• Skilled teaching with clear explanations and effective use of subject-specific vocabulary
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with quick support for pupils who need help
• Tailored support for pupils with SEND so they can access the full curriculum
• Outstanding personal development programme built on values and cultural experiences
• Rich early years environment that builds language and curiosity
• Effective leadership and governance with strong staff support and professional development
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Persistent absence remains too high for some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils
• In some wider curriculum subjects, checking and revisiting of learning is inconsistent
• Pupils’ long-term retention of knowledge is limited where prior learning is not revisited consistently

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 2.5% of pupils at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Patrick's Catholic Primary School had 11.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.5% of pupils at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St Patrick's Catholic Primary School received £14,762 and spent £16,994 for each of its 114 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £342,000 (-£2,999 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Camden · Camden local authority: places and applications

What is St Patrick's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Patrick's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Patrick's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Patrick's Catholic Primary School have?

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School has 114 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Patrick's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Patrick's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Patrick's Catholic Primary School?

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School is at Holmes Road, London, NW5 3AH.