St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Mary's Primary School, a Catholic voluntary academy within St Clare's Multi Academy Trust, was inspected in April 2026. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is performing at the expected standard in most areas, with attendance and behaviour judged a strong standard. Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their inclusive, nurturing school, and leaders have created a calm, purposeful culture with high attendance and positive behaviour. Overall outcomes are at or above national averages in reading, writing, mathematics and phonics, and pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are generally well supported in class. However, there are clear areas for further development. Writing is not yet as strong as leaders want, handwriting expectations are not consistently reinforced, and pupils' work in some foundation subjects is variable. Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are below national averages, with large disadvantage gaps, and leaders' monitoring of the impact of pupil premium funding lacks rigour. Personal development is generally strong, but pupils' understanding of some British values and different faiths and cultures is sometimes insecure or superficial. Leaders are taking appropriate steps to address these issues through the writing curriculum, more consistent curriculum implementation, and stronger strategic oversight of disadvantaged pupils' provision.

Strengths

• Rigorous systems for monitoring attendance, lateness and absence
• Attendance is consistently above national averages and persistent absence is below national averages
• Behaviour in lessons and around school is highly positive
• Pupils feel safe, valued and confident that bullying or discrimination would be dealt with effectively
• Reading is prioritised and phonics is taught accurately across early years and key stage 1
• Phonics screening outcomes are above national averages
• A broad and ambitious curriculum is in place from early years to Year 6
• The mathematics curriculum has been improved so staff teach with consistency and precision
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils generally access the curriculum alongside their peers through skilful adaptations
• Early years provision is thoughtfully designed, well sequenced and nurturing
• Staff quickly identify barriers to learning and provide targeted support
• Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing and workload, and staff feel respected and trusted
• Governance is effective, with governors and trustees holding leaders to account
• Pupils benefit from broad personal development, pastoral support and leadership opportunities

Areas for Improvement

• Standards in writing are not as high as leaders would like
• The planned writing curriculum improvement strategy is not yet fully implemented
• Staff do not consistently reinforce high expectations for handwriting across the curriculum
• There is variation in the quality of teaching across different subjects
• Pupils' work in books is variable, particularly in some foundation curriculum subjects
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are below national averages, with large disadvantage gaps in reading, writing, mathematics and combined measures
• Leaders' checks on the impact of pupil premium funding lack the necessary rigour
• Strategic oversight and monitoring of provision for disadvantaged pupils need further development
• In early years, staff do not consistently check that children write letters and words accurately
• Pupils' understanding of some British values, such as individual liberty and the rule of law, is not consistently secure
• Pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures is sometimes superficial or confused
• Pupil participation in available clubs is variable

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 Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.5% 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, 0.6% of pupils at St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary 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 Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.1% 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, 16.0% of pupils at St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy received £6,524 and spent £7,227 for each of its 176 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £205,000 (£1,164 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,072 and spending £8,099 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• St Ann's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Sheffield
• St Catherine's Catholic Primary School (Hallam) Sheffield
• Sacred Heart School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy Sheffield
• Emmaus Catholic and CofE Primary School Sheffield
• All Saints' Catholic High School Sheffield
• St Marie's School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy Sheffield
• Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School Barnsley
• Notre Dame High School Sheffield
• St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School Sheffield
• St Thomas of Canterbury School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Sheffield

What is St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has 169 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?

St Mary's Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Pack Horse Lane, High Green, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 3HY.