St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School is a highly inclusive and welcoming school where warm relationships and high expectations are central. Inspectors found that pupils thrive, behave impeccably and achieve well over time. The curriculum is ambitious and consistently taught, with a strong early years provision that prioritises communication and personal development. The school has an extensive personal development offer, effective safeguarding and strong leadership across the school and trust. The main area for improvement is writing for some pupils. While phonics and reading are taught well and support is precisely matched, the school does not give enough attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting for pupils who need help to write accurately and independently. This was the only formal next step identified. The inspection was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school is part of Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive environment with warm, caring relationships
• Pupils are polite, respectful and behave impeccably
• High expectations for all pupils regardless of background or starting points
• Ambitious curriculum with consistent teaching and good use of recap
• Well-trained staff teach phonics consistently and match books to pupils’ ability
• Early years provision is exceptionally well designed to build communication and independence
• Attendance has improved consistently over time
• Extensive personal development offer including enrichment, trips and extra-curricular activities
• Pupils have a strong understanding of British values, equality and different faiths and cultures
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Strong leadership and trust support staff feel valued and well supported

Areas for Improvement

• For some pupils, writing does not give enough attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting
• Writing support does not match the strong support pupils receive in phonics and reading
• Some pupils are not able to write with accuracy and independence across the curriculum

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 Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.3% 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, 1.6% of pupils at St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School 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 Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.4% 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, 16.1% of pupils at St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School received £6,536 and spent £6,620 for each of its 346 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £226,000 (£653 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, income was £7,521 and spending £7,443 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 Middlesbrough · Redcar and Cleveland local authority: places and applications

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School is part of Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's Catholic College Middlesbrough
• Corpus Christi RC Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• Saint Gabriel's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Alphonsus' Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Pius X Catholic Primary School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Middlesbrough
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Thomas More RC Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Edward's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough

What is St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School have?

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School has 410 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School cover?

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 41% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School?

St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School is at St Margaret's Grove, South Bank, Middlesbrough, TS6 6TA.