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Sacred Heart Catholic School

Primary Ages 3-11 208 pupils Paignton
All schools in Paignton

Sacred Heart Catholic School is an academy converter in Paignton for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 208 pupils on roll. In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 3-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Cecil Road
Paignton
Devon
TQ3 2SH
Phone 01803558298
Reference Number 140749

General Makeup

Number of pupils 208
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 50%
Girls: 50%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 24%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 20.7%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 27.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 26
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 28.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 13 14 27
2 15 15 30
3 9 16 25
4 16 14 30
5 15 12 27
6 14 17 31

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 74%
Indian 7.7%
White, Other 6.7%
White & Asian 3.4%
African 3.4%
Unclassified 1.9%
White & Black (African) 1%
Asian, Other 1%

Overall Ofsted Rating
Last Report Date 23 May 2023 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
23 May 2023 School inspection
01 Mar 2017 Short inspection
03 Apr 2014 Academy conversion letter
06 Dec 2012 Full inspection:
Previously as Sacred Heart Catholic School
28 Jun 2011 Full inspection:
12 Mar 2008 Full inspection:
09 Feb 2004 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 55%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 13%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 104
Maths 104

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 1
Writing 1
Maths -2

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 12 2
Third Preference 3 0
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Sacred Heart Catholic School had 197 pupils for 210 places. 13 places (6.2%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Paignton Primary” planning area

Torbay counted 421 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 400 in 2029–30, down 5%.

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 201210210210210210210210210210210
Pupils 210210209207208212210207197199197
Unfilled 0.0%0.0%0.5%1.4%1.0%0.0%0.0%1.4%6.2%5.2%6.2%

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 Sacred Heart Catholic School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.8%4.0%3.2%2.7%2.6%2.7%4.9%4.9%4.7%3.6%
Unauthorised absence 1.1%0.9%1.0%0.7%0.7%0.3%0.6%1.3%1.1%0.7%
Severely absent pupils 0.5%1.1%0.0%0.5%0.0%0.5%0.0%2.2%0.6%0.0%

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 Sacred Heart Catholic School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.42.01.20.00.00.00.00.91.83.22.4
Permanent exclusions 00000000100

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 Sacred Heart Catholic School had 25.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 8.89.18.79.69.510.511.311.811.69.410.010.4
Teachers who left state teaching 13.8%2.7%15.9%18.7%11.9%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%30.8%5.1%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 21.4%26.7%30.8%8.3%41.7%–41.7%46.2%60.0%53.8%72.7%–
Sick days per teacher 0.90.71.20.13.7–1.92.62.21.24.4–

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, 20.2% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 20 4
Social, emotional and mental health 14 3
Specific learning difficulty 5 0
No specialist assessment of need 2 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 1
Hearing impairment 1 0

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 Sacred Heart Catholic School received £7,318 and spent £7,726 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £322,000 (£1,541 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

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve -£71,000£16,000£176,000£316,000£327,000£299,000£322,000
per pupil -£313£72£794£1,373£1,481£1,373£1,541
In-year balance -£32,000£35,000£149,000£196,000£82,000-£4,000-£85,000
per pupil -£141£155£669£852£373-£18-£408

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.

Name Distance
Oldway Primary School
Higher Polsham Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2SY
0.08 miles
Curledge Street Academy
Curledge Street, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 5BA
0.47 miles
St Michael's Church of England Academy
Fisher Street, Paignton, TQ4 5EW
0.59 miles
Hayes School
Hayes Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 5PJ
0.79 miles
Kings Ash Academy
Pimm Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3XA
0.9 miles
Preston Primary School
Old Paignton Road, Livermead, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 6UY
1.15 miles
Roselands Primary School
Lynmouth Avenue, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7RQ
1.49 miles
Collaton St Mary Church of England Primary School
Blagdon Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3YA
1.59 miles
Marldon Church of England Primary School
Marldon Cross Hill, Marldon, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 1PD
1.8 miles
White Rock Primary School
Davies Avenue, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7AW
2.01 miles
Cockington Primary School
Old Mill Road, Torquay, TQ2 6AP
2.17 miles
Sherwell Valley Primary School
Hawkins Avenue, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 6ES
2.48 miles
Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School
Queensway, Chelston, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 6DB
2.53 miles
Torre Church of England Academy
Barton Road, Torre C of E Academy, Barton Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4DN
2.75 miles
Shiphay Learning Academy
Exe Hill, Shiphay, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7NF
2.82 miles
Upton St James CofE Primary School
St James Road, Upton, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4AZ
2.85 miles
Ellacombe Church of England Academy
Ellacombe Church Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 1TG
2.89 miles
Warberry CofE Academy
Cedars Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 1SB
3.01 miles
Galmpton Church of England Primary School
Greenway Road, Galmpton, Brixham, Devon, TQ5 0LT
3.14 miles
Homelands Primary School
Westhill Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4NT
3.32 miles
Name Distance
Preston Bridge School
1 Lower Polsham Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2AF
0.13 miles
Brunel School
170b Torquay Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2AL
0.3 miles
Paignton Academy
Waterleat Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3WA
1 miles
Cambian Devon School
Intek House, 52 Borough Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7DQ
1.38 miles
South Devon College
Vantage Point, Long Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7EJ
1.92 miles
Torquay Boys' Grammar School
Shiphay Manor Drive, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7EL
2.57 miles
Torquay Girls' Grammar School
30 Shiphay Lane, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7DY
2.66 miles
Torquay Academy
Cricketfield Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7NU
3.02 miles
Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy
Greenway Road, Churston Ferrers, Brixham, Devon, TQ5 0LN
3.06 miles
The Spires College
Westlands Lane, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 3PE
3.18 miles
St Cuthbert Mayne School
Trumlands Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4RN
3.48 miles
Brixham College
Higher Ranscombe Road, Brixham, Devon, TQ5 9HF
4.21 miles
Combe Pafford School
Steps Lane, Watcombe, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 8NL
4.21 miles
Mayfield School
Moor Lane, Watcombe, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 8NH
4.35 miles
On Track Education Totnes
Parragon Building, Ford Road, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5LQ
4.94 miles

All schools in Paignton · Torbay local authority: places and applications

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Catholic School have?

Sacred Heart Catholic School has 208 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Catholic School cover?

Sacred Heart Catholic School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Sacred Heart Catholic School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sacred Heart Catholic School?

Sacred Heart Catholic School is at Cecil Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2SH.

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