Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School

The school is a small, welcoming Roman Catholic primary in a relatively deprived area, and it has recently gone through a significant leadership change, with the headteacher and assistant headteacher starting in September 2025. Safeguarding is met, and leaders have created an open, caring culture where pupils feel safe, behave very well and attend regularly. Attendance and behaviour are particular strengths: pupils are polite, respectful and supportive across year groups, and the school's work with families has led to sustained improvements in attendance. Most other areas are performing at the expected standard. The curriculum is carefully designed, teachers generally have strong subject knowledge, and pupils with SEND are supported appropriately. By the end of Year 6, pupils typically achieve in line with national averages. Early years is well sequenced with strong routines and parent partnership, and personal development is a clear priority, helping pupils become confident and socially responsible. However, disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as their peers nationally, with a substantial and persistent gap in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have identified this and are taking action. There are also areas to refine: handwriting and letter formation are not consistently applied in pupils' writing, early years staff do not always extend children's learning through interactions, and evaluation of some actions and provision lacks precision. Overall, this is a school with strong foundations and clear priorities, but it needs to sharpen its work so that disadvantaged pupils and those with barriers consistently benefit.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where pupils feel safe.
• Attendance is a strength, supported by positive relationships with families and quick intervention when concerns arise.
• Pupils' behaviour is strong, with polite, courteous and harmonious attitudes around school.
• The school is welcoming and inclusive, helping new pupils settle quickly and feel a sense of belonging.
• The curriculum is carefully designed and regularly reviewed, with teachers confident in subject knowledge.
• Teachers provide regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, helping pupils build knowledge successfully.
• Pupils with SEND are appropriately supported in class with suitable resources and adaptations.
• Early years provision has a well-sequenced curriculum, attractive outdoor learning and strong routines.
• Leaders work effectively with parents and professionals to support pupils with additional needs.
• Leadership transition has been managed well, and staff feel valued with workload and wellbeing considered.
• Personal development is well designed, covering safety, health, British values and pupil leadership.
• Pupils contribute positively to the school and community through leadership roles and events.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as they might, with a substantial gap in reading, writing and mathematics compared with national non-disadvantaged pupils.
• The school's evaluation of some improvement actions lacks precision in assessing impact on pupils' learning and development.
• Pupils do not consistently apply letter formation and handwriting skills in their writing.
• Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities to extend children's learning through their interactions.
• In some instances, teachers have limited strategies to check the small steps of progress made by pupils with SEND or barriers, making it difficult to evaluate support.
• Leaders do not tailor extracurricular and enrichment opportunities precisely enough for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, to participate and benefit fully.
• A small proportion of pupil premium pupils do not benefit consistently from the curriculum and teaching.

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 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.7% 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 Our Lady of Perpetual Help 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 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.6% 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, 19.9% of pupils at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School received £7,117 and spent £7,386 for each of its 132 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £36,000 (£275 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 Doncaster · Doncaster local authority: places and applications

What is Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School have?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School has 136 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School cover?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Primary School is at Finkle Street, Bentley, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN5 0RP.