St Stephen's Catholic Primary School

St Stephen's Catholic Primary School is performing exceptionally well overall. Pupils achieve exceptionally well, with outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics significantly above national averages, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities also make rapid progress. Attendance is exemplary, behaviour is excellent, and pupils are highly engaged, respectful and well prepared for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and taught highly effectively, while early years provision gives children a strong start. Inclusion is central to the school's work, and leadership and governance are strong. The school is a larger-than-average Roman Catholic primary in the Diocese of Southwark. It has a low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and below-average proportions of pupils with SEND or EHC plans, though the location is above average for deprivation. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school has established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Staff are proud to work at the school, parents are highly positive, and leaders share their expertise with other schools. Inspectors identified no areas of concern. The next steps are for leaders and governors to sustain the effectiveness of their work in all areas and continue seeking improvement so that all pupils, including those with barriers to learning, continue to benefit from the school's transformational impact.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve exceptionally well, with reading, writing and mathematics outcomes significantly above national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make rapid progress and are fully prepared for secondary school.
• Attendance is exemplary, and persistent absence is well below national averages.
• Behaviour is excellent, with pupils showing respect, kindness and confidence that bullying will not be tolerated.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and meaningfully connected to pupils' context and heritage.
• Teaching is highly effective, with strong subject knowledge, precise questioning and targeted SEND support.
• Early years provision gives children a highly successful start, particularly in phonics, number and language.
• Inclusion is central, with effective use of pupil premium and strong provision for pupils with SEND and EAL.
• Leadership, governance and staff development are strong, and leaders support other schools on their improvement journey.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well supported through enrichment, pupil leadership and pastoral care.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Parents are highly positive about the school, and staff are proud to work there.

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 Stephen's Catholic Primary School attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.7% 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 Stephen'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 Stephen's Catholic Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.8% 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, 7.9% of pupils at St Stephen's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Stephen's Catholic Primary School received £6,960 and spent £6,954 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £373,000 (£890 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 Bexley · Bexley local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Stephen's Catholic Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

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

St Stephen's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

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

St Stephen's Catholic Primary School has 419 pupils on roll.

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

St Stephen's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 93% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Stephen's Catholic Primary School?

St Stephen's Catholic Primary School is at Ruskin Avenue, Welling, Kent, DA16 3QG.