The St Teresa Catholic Primary School

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School is a kind, welcoming school where pupils feel happy and safe and behave exceptionally well. Inspectors found strong relationships, an inclusive approach and very strong outcomes in English and mathematics. Early reading and phonics are particularly effective, and personal development is a notable strength, with pupils taking leadership roles and contributing to charity and community work. Safeguarding is effective. Leadership and the Good Shepherd Catholic Trust are ambitious and support improvement, but the quality of education is not yet consistently strong across all subjects. In some subjects, teaching does not check or build on pupils' prior knowledge well enough, and foundation subjects are not always clearly sequenced around the intended substantive and disciplinary knowledge. As a result, pupils do not always deepen their understanding over time. The school is already working on these areas. This was the first section 5 inspection of the academy, which joined the Good Shepherd Catholic Trust in 2019; its predecessor school was previously judged outstanding. Under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. Behaviour and personal development were judged outstanding, while quality of education, leadership and management, and early years were good.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and flourish in a kind, welcoming community.
• Behaviour is consistently positive, with rare disruption and high independence.
• Pupils achieve very strong outcomes in English and mathematics.
• Early reading and phonics are particularly well supported, including in Reception.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and included in lessons.
• Personal development is exceptional, with leadership roles, charity work and community projects.
• Leaders and the trust are ambitious, monitor teaching and prioritise staff development and wellbeing.
• Attendance is a high priority with effective monitoring and rewards.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teaching does not accurately check what pupils already know.
• Some teaching does not build effectively on pupils' prior knowledge, limiting deeper understanding.
• In some foundation subjects, curriculum sequencing and the intended substantive and disciplinary knowledge are not clear enough.
• Assessment checks are not used consistently well to adapt teaching and build knowledge.
• In early years, the school does not always monitor closely enough whether all children benefit equally from resources and tasks.

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 The St Teresa Catholic Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at The St Teresa 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 The St Teresa Catholic Primary School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 13.9% of pupils at The St Teresa Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 The St Teresa Catholic Primary School received £8,012 and spent £8,169 for each of its 222 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £284,000 (-£1,282 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Good Shepherd Catholic Trust, income was £8,234 and spending £8,332 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 Barking And Dagenham · Barking and Dagenham local authority: places and applications

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School is part of The Good Shepherd Catholic Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Dagenham
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Dagenham
• The Palmer Catholic Academy Ilford
• SS Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary School Ilford
• St Aidan's Catholic Primary Academy Ilford
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Barking
• Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary School London

What is The St Teresa Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The St Teresa Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was The St Teresa Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does The St Teresa Catholic Primary School have?

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School has 230 pupils on roll.

What age range does The St Teresa Catholic Primary School cover?

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The St Teresa Catholic Primary School?

The St Teresa Catholic Primary School is at Bowes Road, Bowes Road, Dagenham, Essex, RM8 2XJ.