St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School is a friendly, welcoming Catholic primary within the Plymouth CAST Multi Academy Trust. It is emerging from a period of significant leadership and staffing change, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The school has an ambitious vision and has begun making positive curriculum changes, but these are not yet securely in place, so pupils do not consistently build subject knowledge across the curriculum. Personal development is a clear strength, supported by distinctive values, charitable work and a wide range of clubs and trips. Pupils feel safe, attend well and are confident that staff will help with worries, and new pupils settle quickly. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. However, behaviour expectations are not consistently understood or applied, and some pupils lose focus when the curriculum is not well structured or taught. Leaders and governors understand the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have begun to act, but significant work remains. Curriculum design and implementation, staff training, assessment and consistent behaviour practice all need improvement. These weaknesses particularly affect pupils with SEND, whose detailed learning plans are not yet matched by consistently strong curriculum delivery.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly, welcoming and attend well.
• Personal development is a strength, informed by the school’s distinctive values.
• Pupils feel safe and are confident staff will help with worries or concerns.
• New pupils who join mid-year settle in swiftly.
• Pupils develop talents and interests through clubs such as football and chess.
• Pupils build cultural appreciation through visits to museums and other places of interest.
• The school has developed a well-stocked library and encourages regular reading.
• The early years curriculum is well planned and detailed, and the learning environment has improved.
• Leaders, trustees and governors have an accurate understanding of strengths and areas for development.
• Staff are supportive of school leadership and proud to be part of the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not fully developed or implemented across many subjects.
• Pupils are not consistently supported to build subject knowledge incrementally.
• Not all staff have the expertise or training to teach the curriculum effectively.
• Assessment does not reliably identify gaps in pupils’ understanding.
• Behaviour expectations are not commonly understood or consistently implemented.
• Some pupils do not have positive attitudes towards their education.
• Phonics is not consistently implemented or adapted to pupils’ needs.
• Beyond phonics, the reading curriculum does not define the key knowledge and skills pupils need.
• Early years staff have not received the support and training needed to teach the curriculum effectively.
• Shortcomings in curriculum design and implementation affect pupils with SEND.

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 Nicholas Catholic Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 3.7% of pupils at St Nicholas Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Nicholas Catholic Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.2% 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, 22.7% of pupils at St Nicholas Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 Nicholas Catholic Primary School received £6,717 and spent £7,195 for each of its 324 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £382,000 (£1,181 per pupil).

Across all 34 schools of Plymouth Cast, income was £8,158 and spending £8,000 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 Exeter · Devon local authority: places and applications

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School is part of Plymouth Cast, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Exmouth Exmouth
• Our Lady and St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School Teignmouth
• St John's Catholic Primary School Tiverton
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Newton Abbot
• Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay Torquay
• Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Torquay
• Sacred Heart Catholic School Paignton
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast Buckfastleigh
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Axminster Axminster
• St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School Brixham

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Nicholas Catholic Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was St Nicholas Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does St Nicholas Catholic Primary School have?

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School has 269 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Nicholas Catholic Primary School cover?

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Nicholas Catholic Primary School?

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School is at Ringswell Avenue, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3EG.