St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa

St Mary’s Church of England Controlled Primary School is a community-minded church primary where pupils feel happy and safe, behave well and are kind and polite. The school has moved on from its previous requires improvement judgment and is now judged good across the inspected areas. Early reading and phonics are particularly strong, pupils with SEND are well supported, and the curriculum is being carefully designed and sequenced, including for mixed-age classes. However, the recent curriculum improvements are not yet reflected in key stage 2 published outcomes, and checks on pupils’ understanding are inconsistent in some wider curriculum subjects. The school has dealt well with a period of staffing turbulence, and the relatively new headteacher, leaders and governors are determined to keep improving. Governors know the school well and hold it to account effectively, while the diocese and local authority provide strong support and challenge. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and pupils benefit from a wide range of personal development opportunities, including clubs, outdoor learning and responsibilities around school. The main area for improvement is to develop staff expertise in checking pupils’ understanding across the wider curriculum. Where these checks are less effective, pupils’ learning is less secure, they are less ready for new ideas, and the school is less able to evaluate the curriculum’s impact or identify gaps in knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils are kind, polite and model the school’s values well.
• The school is calm and orderly, with clear routines and consistent behaviour expectations.
• Pupils enjoy attending and the vast majority attend regularly and on time.
• Parents are very positive about the school and leaders are approachable.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced from the early years, including in mixed-age classes.
• Early reading and phonics are a strength, helping pupils become confident and fluent readers.
• Pupils with SEND receive timely, considerate and effective support.
• Children make a positive start in the early years and engage purposefully in learning.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, outdoor learning and personal development opportunities.
• Leaders and governors know the school well and are determined to continue improving.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on pupils’ understanding are less effective in some wider curriculum subjects.
• In those subjects, pupils’ learning is less secure and they are less ready to learn new ideas.
• The school is less able to evaluate the impact of the curriculum or identify knowledge gaps in some wider curriculum areas.
• Key stage 2 published outcomes do not yet reflect the recent curriculum improvements.

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 Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa attended 96.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 0.8% 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, 0.7% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa 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 Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 17.2% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa received £8,502 and spent £8,929 for each of its 134 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £118,000 (£881 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).

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What is St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa have?

St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa has 134 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa cover?

St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa?

St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa is at Clifford Road, Boston Spa, Clifford Road, Boston Spa, Select, West Yorkshire, LS23 6DB.