St Paul's Catholic Primary School

St Paul's Catholic Primary School is a happy, calm and well-run school where pupils feel safe and staff build warm, supportive relationships. This was its first section 5 inspection, although the school had previously been judged outstanding before converting to academy status; it is now part of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust. Inspectors found good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, with personal development judged outstanding. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced, and pupils typically achieve well. Staff adapt learning well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, use assessment effectively to address gaps, and provide strong early support for speech, language and communication. Pupils benefit from an impressive careers programme, meaningful leadership roles and exceptional personal development opportunities, including debating and enterprise. The trust and local governing committee provide effective support and challenge. The main area for improvement is writing in the early stages. Some tasks do not closely match pupils' needs or abilities, so some pupils do not get enough practice to consolidate their phonics knowledge and become accurate, fluent writers. Overall, the school is performing well, with one clear improvement priority.

Strengths

• Warm and supportive relationships between staff and pupils
• Clear routines and high expectations for behaviour
• Pupils feel safe, happy and behave calmly
• Broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum
• Curriculum adapted effectively for pupils with SEND
• Effective assessment and regular revisiting of prior learning
• Passionate, knowledgeable staff with strong professional development
• Early oracy and speech and language support from Nursery
• Effective phonics support with reading books matched to phonics knowledge
• Exceptional personal development with strong pupil voice
• Impressive careers education linked to local pathways
• Pupil leadership and responsibility opportunities
• Effective trust and local governing committee oversight
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Writing tasks for pupils at the early stages do not always match their ability or needs
• Some pupils do not get enough practice to consolidate phonics and develop accurate, fluent writing

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 Paul's Catholic Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.6% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St Paul's Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Paul's Catholic Primary School had 24.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.3% 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, 5.7% of pupils at St Paul's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Paul's Catholic Primary School received £6,365 and spent £6,037 for each of its 223 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £239,000 (£1,075 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,699 and spending £7,759 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 Billingham · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

St Paul's Catholic Primary School is part of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, which runs 35 schools. The nearest others:

• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Academy Billingham
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Billingham
• St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School Billingham
• St Michael's Catholic Academy Billingham
• St Joseph's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Gregory's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Bede's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Our Lady & St. Bede Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Stockton Stockton-On-Tees
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Stockton Stockton-On-Tees

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

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

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

St Paul's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

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

St Paul's Catholic Primary School has 230 pupils on roll.

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

St Paul's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Paul's 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 Paul's Catholic Primary School?

St Paul's Catholic Primary School is at Wolviston Mill Lane, Billingham, TS22 5LU.