St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School has been judged as good overall in its first inspection since becoming an academy in 2021. The school is committed to providing a supportive and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and valued, allowing them to flourish both academically and personally. The leadership team has set high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behavior, and pupils are generally engaged and motivated in their learning, benefiting from a variety of extracurricular activities that promote their well-being and independence. While the quality of education is generally strong, there are areas for improvement, particularly in ensuring that the full curriculum is effectively delivered and aligned with the school's intentions. Some gaps in students' knowledge were identified due to insufficient oversight of the curriculum's implementation. Nevertheless, the school's commitment to improvement and the supportive environment created by the leaders reflect a promising trajectory for future development.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming learning environment for pupils
• High expectations for academic achievement and behavior
• Strong emphasis on personal development and extracurricular activities
• Effective phonics teaching resulting in quick reading progress
• Fully inclusive support for pupils with SEND
• Strong leadership and governance with an accurate view of strengths and priorities

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in delivering the curriculum across some subjects
• Lack of age-appropriate understanding of diversity among pupils
• Insufficient checks on curriculum implementation and pupils' knowledge retention

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, a Voluntary Academy attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.9% 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.8% 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, 5.9% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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, a Voluntary Academy received £5,922 and spent £7,124 for each of its 182 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £279,000 (-£1,532 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,890 and spending £7,055 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 Selby · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is part of The Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Goole Goole
• Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Pontefract
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract Pontefract
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford Castleford
• St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Leeds
• St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy Pontefract
• St. John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Normanton
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe Pontefract
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Pontefract
• St Austin's Catholic Primary School Wakefield

What is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy has 188 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy cover?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is at Baffam Lane, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 9AX.