St Mary's Catholic Primary School

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a strong school where pupils are proud, safe and well supported. Inspectors found that leadership, inclusion, early years provision, attendance and behaviour, and personal development are all notable strengths. Pupils behave well, attend regularly, and benefit from a caring, values-driven ethos. The school's work to support disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND is effective, and staff feel valued and well trained. Safeguarding arrangements are met. The main area for development is in achievement and curriculum/teaching, which are judged as meeting the expected standard rather than being a standout strength. While pupils achieve well overall and outcomes are close to national averages, inspectors noted that misconceptions in pupils' written work are not always picked up and corrected, meaning some minor errors can persist over time. This is the school's next step. The school is part of the Saint Thomas Catholic Academies Trust and is federated with another local school. It has a nursery, including provision for two-year-olds, and a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEN support. Leaders have a strong understanding of the school's context and use additional funding effectively to overcome barriers to learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and feel safe and secure.
• Attendance has improved rapidly through effective work with families.
• Pupils behave well and are respectful in class and at social times.
• Children in early years flourish and make accelerated progress, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with SEND.
• The school has an inclusive and caring ethos that effectively supports all pupils.
• Leaders have a robust knowledge of the school and respond quickly to emerging needs.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with well-managed workload and high-quality professional development.
• Personal development and wellbeing are at the heart of the school, with a wide range of opportunities.
• Pupils develop a strong sense of cohesion and moral values.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious, tailored to the school's cohort.
• Teachers use effective recall and consolidation to reinforce learning.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported to overcome barriers.
• Outcomes in national tests are close to national averages.
• Phonics provision has improved and had a positive impact.

Areas for Improvement

• Misconceptions in pupils' work are not always recognised and addressed, leading to repeated minor errors.

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 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.0% 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, 3.8% of pupils at St Mary'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 Mary's Catholic Primary School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.0% 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, 11.4% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 £7,566 and spent £6,483 for each of its 225 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £432,000 (£1,919 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 · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

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

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

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 229 pupils on roll.

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

St Mary's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% 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 Dunstable Road, Caddington, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 4BB.