St Saviour's Catholic Primary School

St Saviour’s Catholic Primary School is a happy, nurturing school where pupils achieve well and behave positively. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum that is well sequenced from the early years to Year 6 and taught with expertise, with strong support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Early reading has been strengthened following below-average 2024 phonics results, and current pupils are now achieving well and enjoy reading. Pupils benefit from a wide personal development offer, including clubs, trips, leadership roles and well-considered PSHE, while safeguarding is effective. Leadership, governance and staff development are strong, and leaders pay careful attention to staff workload and well-being. The main area for improvement is assessment in a minority of subjects, especially newer curriculums, where checks on pupils’ learning are not consistently effective and gaps can be missed. Attendance is not yet as high as the school expects, although leaders have a clear strategy and rates are improving. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has appointed a new headteacher since the previous inspection; it is a Catholic voluntary-aided primary school.

Strengths

• School values of courage, respect and unity are shared and lived out by pupils.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and have strong, supportive relationships with staff.
• The school provides a nurturing family environment that parents appreciate.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and taught with expertise across a broad range of subjects.
• Pupils rise to the school’s high expectations and achieve well.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from strong support and guidance.
• Leadership at all levels is strong and focused on positive pupil outcomes.
• Early reading has been strengthened, with effective phonics teaching from Reception.
• Staff quickly identify and address gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge, with targeted extra help when needed.
• Pupils have access to high-quality texts, love reading and enjoy listening to stories.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, with carefully designed and checked additional support.
• Staff receive training and guidance to support pupils with SEND effectively.
• Pupils behave well, are responsible and kind, and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Pupils take on leadership roles such as school council members and take them seriously.
• The personal development programme is extensive, including clubs, visits and cultural experiences.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves mentally and physically healthy and safe online.
• The early years provision strongly promotes children’s personal, social and emotional development.
• Governors provide valued support and appropriate strategic oversight.
• Leaders pay careful attention to staff workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a minority of subjects, checks on how well pupils have learned and remembered important knowledge are not fully effective.
• Gaps in pupils’ learning are sometimes overlooked in subjects with newer curriculums, hindering secure knowledge building.
• Attendance is not as high as the school would expect, although it is improving.

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 Saviour's Catholic Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Saviour'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 Saviour's Catholic Primary School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 42.3% 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, 18.1% of pupils at St Saviour's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Saviour's Catholic Primary School received £10,316 and spent £10,833 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £439,000 (-£2,375 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

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

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

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

St Saviour's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

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

St Saviour's Catholic Primary School has 188 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Saviour's Catholic Primary School?

St Saviour's Catholic Primary School is at 10 Bonfield Road, Lewisham, London, SE13 6AL.