St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary in Houghton Regis, part of St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust. Following a full section 5 inspection in July 2026, it was judged to be performing at a Strong standard overall, with safeguarding standards met. Leaders have established a calm, inclusive and high-expectation culture. Attendance is above the national average and rising, behaviour is excellent, and pupils are polite, resilient and well prepared for life in modern Britain. The strongest areas are leadership and governance, inclusion, early years, attendance and behaviour, and personal development and wellbeing, all graded Strong standard. Leaders use robust systems to track attendance and support families; pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils receive tailored support; the early years curriculum builds strong foundations in reading, writing and mathematics; and personal development is deliberately planned with wide opportunities. Pupils achieve well overall, with phonics consistently above average and Year 6 reading and writing above national averages. However, achievement and curriculum and teaching are graded Expected standard rather than Strong. In some subjects where the curriculum is still embedding, activities do not always support pupils' progress. Some pupils have gaps in foundational skills such as letter or number formation and spelling, though these are closing. Disadvantaged pupils' attainment remains below national averages in combined reading, writing and mathematics, despite the gap narrowing. Next steps focus on refining less well-embedded curriculum areas and continuing to close foundational gaps so achievement rises further.

Strengths

• Attendance is above the national average and rising for all groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils' behaviour is excellent, with a calm atmosphere and very few incidents of unkindness or disruption.
• The early years curriculum builds strong foundations in communication, language, reading, writing and mathematics.
• Inclusion is a major strength: leaders identify barriers quickly and provide tailored support for SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other groups.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with rigorous quality assurance and effective trust and governor oversight.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with pupils developing resilience, respect and a secure understanding of safety and healthy relationships.
• Pupils achieve well overall, and Year 1 phonics results are consistently above average.
• Year 6 reading and writing outcomes are above national averages, and mathematics is close to average.
• Pupils with SEND progress well thanks to effective and inclusive teaching.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and adapted to pupils' needs, with recent improvements in reading, geography and history.
• Staff receive effective training and external specialist support to meet pupils' needs.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership roles that extend their horizons.
• Relationships with parents, carers and the community are positive and focused on pupils' best interests.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is at Expected standard rather than Strong, with some pupils having gaps in basic skills such as letter or number formation and spelling.
• Curriculum and teaching are at Expected standard; in subjects where the curriculum is still embedding, activities do not always support pupils' progress as well as they might.
• Leaders should continue to refine less well-embedded curriculum areas so activities are well matched to pupils' needs.
• Leaders should continue to support staff in closing gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge and skills so achievement rises further.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment remains below national averages in combined reading, writing and mathematics, despite the gap narrowing.

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 Vincent's Catholic Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.2% 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 Vincent'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 Vincent's Catholic Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.8% 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, 9.4% of pupils at St Vincent's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.7% 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 Vincent's Catholic Primary School received £7,409 and spent £6,465 for each of its 211 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £241,000 (£1,147 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 Dunstable · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

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

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

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

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

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

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

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Vincent's Catholic Primary School?

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School is at Hammersmith Gardens, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5RG.