St Edward's Catholic Academy

St Edward’s Catholic Academy has demonstrated a good level of overall effectiveness during its first inspection. The school promotes a positive environment where pupils enjoy learning, exhibit good behavior, and feel safe. With a dedicated staff that works as a cohesive unit and a strong focus on social and personal development, the school has made progress in improving the quality of education, particularly in English and mathematics. As part of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Academy Trust, the school benefits from support aimed at enhancing educational provisions further.

Strengths

• Pupils display enthusiasm for learning and enjoy a variety of extracurricular activities.
• Staff are committed to promoting good behavior and positive relationships among pupils.
• Strong leadership is evident with high aspirations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs.
• Effective teaching of reading and mathematics with appropriate resources and support.
• A supportive school environment where safeguarding measures are prioritized.

Areas for Improvement

• Curricular planning is inconsistent in detail across subjects.
• Subject knowledge of some teachers needs improvement in specific areas.
• Assessment practices in certain subjects do not adequately ensure retention of learning over time.

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 Edward's Catholic Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.9% 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 Edward's Catholic Academy 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 Edward's Catholic Academy had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 12.5% of pupils at St Edward's Catholic Academy 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 Edward's Catholic Academy received £6,714 and spent £7,441 for each of its 230 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £266,000 (-£1,156 per pupil).

Across all 25 schools of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,472 and spending £7,889 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 Swadlincote · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

St Edward's Catholic Academy is part of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy Burton-On-Trent
• Holy Rosary Catholic Voluntary Academy Burton-On-Trent
• St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• St Alban's Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby
• English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy Nottingham
• Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy Ilkeston

What is St Edward's Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Edward's Catholic Academy is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was St Edward's Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Edward's Catholic Academy was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does St Edward's Catholic Academy have?

St Edward's Catholic Academy has 248 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Edward's Catholic Academy cover?

St Edward's Catholic Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Edward's Catholic Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Edward's Catholic Academy?

St Edward's Catholic Academy is at Newhall Road, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0BD.