Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Overall, Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary is a welcoming, caring school that is meeting expected standards in all inspected areas. It is a small primary with 162 pupils, well below the national average, and has a Christian character in the Diocese of Blackburn. Pupils achieve well, with attainment above national figures in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar over several years, and recent phonics improvements are strengthening early reading. Attendance is above national averages, persistent absence is low, and behaviour is typically calm and respectful. The early years provision and personal development offer are particularly strong, with pupils benefiting from wide opportunities in sport, music, the arts and leadership roles. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders know the school well and have responded quickly to recent leadership and staffing changes, stabilising the team and gaining supportive comments from parents and staff. The curriculum is well designed for mixed-age classes, staff receive useful training, and pupils with SEND are generally identified early and supported to learn alongside their peers. Governors are committed and work closely with leaders and the local authority. There are two main areas for further improvement. Handwriting expectations are not yet consistently embedded across all classes and written work, and for a small number of pupils with SEND, learning targets are not always precise enough to ensure adaptations and support consistently meet their needs.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, with attainment above national figures in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar over several years.
• Recent phonics improvements provide secure early reading foundations.
• Pupils read fluently and use a wide range of vocabulary.
• Pupils recall important curriculum knowledge confidently and make links to prior learning.
• Attendance is above national averages, and persistent absence is low and reducing.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and respectful, and classrooms are calm.
• Bullying and discriminatory behaviour are dealt with quickly and fairly.
• The curriculum is well designed and sequenced, including for mixed-age classes.
• Staff receive helpful training, and teaching assistants are deployed effectively.
• Early years provision is strong, with warm relationships and purposeful activities.
• Early reading, writing and mathematics are taught well in the early years.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early, learn alongside peers, and typically achieve well from their starting points.
• Leaders know the school well, act on priorities and have stabilised staffing after disruption.
• Governors are committed, ask helpful questions and support school improvement.
• Personal development is a strength, with wide opportunities in sport, music, arts and pupil leadership roles.
• Pupils feel safe, cared for and confident, and know how to stay safe online and in relationships.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting expectations are not consistently embedded across all classes and written work.
• For a small number of pupils with SEND, learning targets are not precise enough, so curriculum adaptations and support are not consistently effective.
• Recent leadership and staffing changes caused some disruption, although leaders acted quickly to stabilise the school.

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 Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Caton St Paul's Church of England 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 Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School had 22.5 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, 5.8% of pupils at Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School received £6,777 and spent £6,981 for each of its 171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £63,000 (£366 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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All schools in Lancaster · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School have?

Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School cover?

Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School?

Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School is at Moorside Road, Brookhouse, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 9PJ.