St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School in Swindon continues to perform well, maintaining its 'good' status since its last inspection in 2018. The school fosters a welcoming community where pupils display pride in their school and enjoy supportive relationships with staff. The curriculum is ambitious and carefully structured, ensuring that pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well-prepared for their future educational paths. Notably, pupils are encouraged to develop their talents through various extracurricular activities, enhancing their confidence and resilience.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate strong engagement and pride in their school.
• The school has a tangible sense of community based on core values.
• Extra-curricular activities foster confidence and resilience among pupils.
• Careful planning of the curriculum supports learning from Nursery to Year 6.
• Strong emphasis on the development of subject-specific vocabulary.
• Early years staff effectively promote emotional literacy and curiosity.
• A consistent approach to phonics helps pupils become confident readers.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack effective assessment practices leading to knowledge gaps.

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 Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.1% 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, 0.5% of pupils at St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon 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 Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.4% 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, 7.7% of pupils at St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon received £6,581 and spent £6,797 for each of its 217 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £25,000 (£115 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.

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• Secondary Schools

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What is St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon last inspected by Ofsted?

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon have?

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon has 209 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon cover?

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon?

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Swindon is at Davenwood, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 7LL.