St Mary's Catholic Infant School

St Mary’s Catholic Infant School is performing well with an overall effectiveness rated as good. The school has not been inspected previously under the current framework and this inspection marks a significant moment as it allows for a comprehensive evaluation of their educational practices. The community feel is strong, with students displaying positive behaviors and high levels of engagement. The school prioritizes the well-being of both its pupils and staff, with parents expressing overwhelming support and involvement in their children's education.

Strengths

• Strong community feel with positive relationships between pupils and staff.
• High expectations of behavior resulting in excellent pupil conduct.
• Broad and balanced curriculum with strong subject knowledge amongst staff.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Emphasis on reading and positive experiences in the arts through regular performances.

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of clarity in the exact knowledge pupils should know in some subjects.
• Phonics program not fully embedded in Years 1 and 2, affecting some pupils' reading fluency.

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 Catholic Infant School attended 96.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.2% 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, 0.5% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic Infant 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 Mary's Catholic Infant School had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 22.3% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Catholic Infant School received £8,534 and spent £8,121 for each of its 199 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £273,000 (£1,375 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, income was £5,187 and spending £5,337 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 Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Catholic Infant School is part of Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• St. Mary's Catholic Junior School Croydon
• Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School South Croydon
• St Elphege's RC Junior School Wallington
• St Elphege's RC Infants' School Wallington
• St Aidan's Catholic Primary School Coulsdon
• St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School Sutton
• St John Fisher RC Primary School London
• Ursuline High School Wimbledon London

What is St Mary's Catholic Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic Infant School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St Mary's Catholic Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Catholic Infant School was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic Infant School have?

St Mary's Catholic Infant School has 193 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Catholic Infant School cover?

St Mary's Catholic Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is St Mary's Catholic Infant School?

St Mary's Catholic Infant School is at Bedford Park, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 2AQ.