St Bede's Catholic Primary School

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School is a good school across all inspected areas, with a strong family ethos and nurturing relationships that help pupils feel happy and safe. The curriculum has been reviewed and is ambitious and well planned, and outcomes are improving, including for pupils with SEND. Early reading is a particular strength, and children get a secure start in the early years. Behaviour and personal development are also good, with pupils taking on leadership roles and engaging well in school life. The school is well led following the appointment of the new headteacher, with support from the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust and a skilled local governing body. Parents hold the school in high regard, attendance has improved, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the report notes the school’s recent changes and improved expectations. There are two main areas for improvement. In some subjects, assessment checks are not consistently used to adapt learning so that all pupils learn and practise the right skills at the right time. For some pupils with SEND, support plans are not precise enough and activities are not always well matched to their needs, meaning these pupils do not always secure basic knowledge before moving on to more complex work.

Strengths

• Strong family ethos supported by values that run through school life
• Positive, nurturing relationships built on kindness and respect
• Pupils feel happy, safe and able to speak to trusted adults
• Ambitious curriculum that is well planned and builds knowledge from early years to Year 6
• Early reading and phonics are implemented well, with well-trained adults
• Pupils read books matched to the sounds they know
• Children get a secure start in the early years
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times
• Lessons are calm and purposeful with minimum disruption
• Pupils have many leadership opportunities and feel their voices are heard
• Pupils understand fundamental British values and inclusion
• Strong relationships with parents and carers have improved attendance
• The new headteacher, trust and governing body provide stability and direction
• Staff feel well supported and are proud to work at the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, checks on pupils’ understanding are not consistently used to adapt learning
• Some pupils do not access the learning they need in a timely enough manner
• Support plans for some pupils with SEND lack specificity
• Curriculum activities are not always well matched to the needs of pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND do not secure basic knowledge before moving to more complex learning

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 Bede's Catholic Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.5% 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, 1.6% of pupils at St Bede'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 Bede's Catholic Primary School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.6% 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, 10.6% of pupils at St Bede's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% 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 2024–25 St Bede's Catholic Primary School received £5,742 and spent £6,319 for each of its 315 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £330,000 (£1,049 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,699 and spending £7,759 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

St Bede's Catholic Primary School is part of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, which runs 35 schools. The nearest others:

• Holy Family Catholic Primary School Darlington
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Darlington
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Darlington
• Carmel College Darlington
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Newton Aycliffe
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Stockton Stockton-On-Tees
• Our Lady & St. Bede Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Gregory's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Bede's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees

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

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

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

St Bede's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

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

St Bede's Catholic Primary School has 322 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Bede's Catholic Primary School?

St Bede's Catholic Primary School is at Kingsway, Thompson Street East, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 3ES.