St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate

St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School in Margate is a Catholic primary academy within the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and leadership has changed since the previous inspection. Pupils are happy, polite and feel safe, and staff apply clear routines consistently. Expectations are high, including for disadvantaged pupils, and an ambitious curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including those in mixed-age classes. Reading is a notable strength, with strong phonics support and a clear love of reading. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well, and personal development is a standout feature of the school. Safeguarding is effective, and governors and trustees work well with leaders. The main areas for improvement are specific but important. In a small number of subjects, staff subject knowledge is not secure enough, so some pupils do not learn the intended content accurately. Early writing is not yet fully embedded: some younger pupils do not have age-appropriate letter formation or sufficient stamina for longer writing. Persistent absence is also too high for too many pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, meaning they miss too much of their education. Overall, this is a strong school with warm relationships, a calm and orderly environment, and a well-designed curriculum. Leaders have already begun addressing the writing issue, but the approach is not yet consistent. The school’s work to improve attendance has not yet had enough impact, and developing staff expertise in the weaker subjects remains a priority. The inspection team recognised the school’s many strengths while identifying these clear next steps for further improvement.

Strengths

• Warm, positive relationships and clear routines help pupils feel safe and behave well.
• An ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including mixed-age classes.
• Strong phonics teaching and well-matched reading books help pupils become confident, fluent readers.
• Pupils love reading and read deeply and widely across a rich range of texts.
• Teachers explain learning clearly and check pupils’ understanding carefully.
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well and build increasingly sophisticated knowledge over time.
• Personal development is a standout strength, with strong community, diversity and extra-curricular opportunities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge, and staff feel well supported.
• The school is calm and orderly, with purposeful classrooms and kind early years play.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, staff subject knowledge is not secure enough, so some pupils do not learn the curriculum content accurately.
• Early writing is not yet fully embedded, and some younger pupils lack age-appropriate letter formation and stamina for longer writing.
• Persistent absence is too high for too many pupils, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.

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 Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.3% 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, 1.4% of pupils at St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate 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 Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate had 25.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.9% 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, 22.2% of pupils at St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate received £6,721 and spent £6,380 for each of its 294 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £185,000 (£628 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, income was £6,963 and spending £6,776 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 Margate · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate is part of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• Ursuline College Westgate-On-Sea
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Broadstairs Broadstairs
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Deal
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham Canterbury
• St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury Canterbury
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Whitstable
• St Edmund's Catholic School Dover
• St Richard's Catholic Primary School Dover
• Stella Maris Catholic Primary School Folkestone
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Hythe

What is St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate last inspected by Ofsted?

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate have?

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate has 284 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate cover?

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate?

St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate is at Nash Road, Margate, Kent, CT9 4BU.