St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School is a large Catholic primary in Luton, part of St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust, serving a community with well above average deprivation. Since its last inspection, it has added a pre-school and nursery. Inspectors found a school performing strongly overall, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils achieve highly from their starting points, especially in reading and writing, and are well prepared for their next stage. Behaviour is impeccable, attendance is in line with national averages and improving, and inclusion is central to leaders' work.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly from their various starting points and are well prepared for the next stage.
• Reading and writing outcomes are consistently above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders' sharp focus on early reading has rapidly increased phonics pass rates.
• Pupils are confident, articulate speakers and produce high-quality work across the curriculum.
• Attendance is consistently in line with national averages and continues to improve.
• Pupils behave impeccably in a calm, positive and supportive environment.
• The curriculum is broad, well-ordered and consistently well taught.
• Teaching is precise, with frequent checks and swift support for misunderstandings.
• Inclusion sits at the heart of decision-making, with tailored support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.
• The personal development programme is extensive and helps pupils become kind, confident and socially aware.
• Early years has seen significant improvements in curriculum sequencing and staff-child relationships.
• Leaders, trustees and the local academy committee provide constructive support and challenge.
• Staff appreciate leaders' focus on wellbeing and reducing workload.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is precise and effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years teaching is not consistently well matched to children's needs, with some tasks overly complex and requiring too much adult guidance.
• Some early years activities hinder the depth and detail of children's knowledge.
• Mathematics achievement is not as high as in other subjects, and published outcomes do not yet reflect pupils' detailed learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils' mathematics gap remains negative compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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 of Scotland Catholic Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.8% 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, 0.2% of pupils at St Margaret of Scotland Catholic 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 of Scotland Catholic Primary School had 26.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.1% 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, 14.0% of pupils at St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 of Scotland Catholic Primary School received £7,205 and spent £6,159 for each of its 453 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £425,000 (£937 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust, income was £7,112 and spending £7,057 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 Luton · Luton local authority: places and applications

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School is part of St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Luton
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Luton
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Luton
• St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School Luton
• Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College Luton
• St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Dunstable
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Amersham
• St Joseph's Catholic Infant School Aylesbury
• St Edward's Catholic Junior School Aylesbury
• St Louis Catholic Primary School Aylesbury

What is St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School have?

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School has 421 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School cover?

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School?

St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School is at Rotheram Avenue, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 5PP.