St Luke's Catholic Academy

St Luke's Catholic Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across various domains including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school fosters a supportive environment where pupils feel safe and are engaged in their learning, guided by strong Christian values. Parents have a positive perception of the school, complimenting the dedicated staff who nurture students effectively. However, the school is still in a phase of development with its curriculum, as some of the programs have only been recently revised. There are concerns regarding the consistency in subject knowledge among some teachers, which may lead to gaps in pupils' understanding. While the school has high aspirations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs, there remains a need for ongoing training and support for staff to ensure effective delivery of the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and are well greeted by staff each morning
• Strong focus on Christian values that guide pupil behaviour
• Active pupil involvement in citizenship and community service
• Well-structured and ambitious curriculum
• Effective teaching approach for reading and phonics
• Strong support for pupils with SEND leading to good achievement
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils
• High parent satisfaction with school support and care

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent subject knowledge among some teachers
• Curriculum programs not fully established or evaluated yet

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 Luke's Catholic Academy attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.9% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St Luke's Catholic Academy 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 Luke's Catholic Academy had 26.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 19.0% of pupils at St Luke's Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Luke's Catholic Academy received £6,770 and spent £6,643 for each of its 233 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £101,000 (£434 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,092 and spending £6,783 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 Harlow · Essex local authority: places and applications

St Luke's Catholic Academy is part of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• St Alban's Catholic Academy Harlow
• St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Loughton

What is St Luke's Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Luke's Catholic Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was St Luke's Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Luke's Catholic Academy was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does St Luke's Catholic Academy have?

St Luke's Catholic Academy has 231 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Luke's Catholic Academy cover?

St Luke's Catholic Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Luke's Catholic Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Luke's Catholic Academy?

St Luke's Catholic Academy is at Pyenest Road, Harlow, Essex, CM19 4LU.