St Mary's Catholic Primary School

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School has shown significant improvements from its previous inspection, achieving a overall effectiveness rating of good. The school is dedicated to providing a high-quality education, supported by a caring and inclusive environment. Pupils benefit from strong leadership and management, alongside innovative practices that encourage personal development, engagement with the community, and an inclusive atmosphere that respects diversity. The school has established a solid foundation for children's early education, particularly in language and communication, effectively supporting many children who speak English as an additional language.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and management foster a positive learning environment.
• High expectations for all pupils lead to improved academic performance.
• Effective focus on early language and communication development.
• Proactive support for pupils with SEND ensures equitable learning opportunities.
• Robust methods for promoting personal development and community engagement.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment methods to check pupils' understanding.
• Lack of consistent oversight in curriculum monitoring across subjects.

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 Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Mary's 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 16.2% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School received £7,540 and spent £7,641 for each of its 181 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £312,000 (£1,723 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust Ltd, income was £7,187 and spending £7,596 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is part of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust Ltd, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School Northampton
• St Thomas Becket Catholic School Northampton
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School Northampton
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Wellingborough
• St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Kettering
• St Edward's Catholic Primary School Kettering
• St Brendan's Catholic Primary School Corby
• Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School Corby
• St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School Bedford
• St Thomas More Catholic School Bedford

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 160 pupils on roll.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Catholic Primary School?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is at Woodside Way, Kings Heath, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN5 7HX.