Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Shotton is performing well overall, achieving a rating of 'Good' across key areas such as education quality, personal development, and leadership. The school fosters a warm and inclusive environment, with pupils demonstrating outstanding behaviour and strong engagement in their learning. Pupils perform well academically, especially in reading and writing, and the school's commitment to personal and character development is evident through various leadership opportunities and activities beyond the classroom. While the school has notable strengths, there are areas for improvement, particularly in ensuring that learning activities are consistently well matched to intended outcomes across all subjects. With a strong leadership team and effective support for pupils with special educational needs, the school is well-placed to continue its trajectory of improvement. This is the first inspection since the school converted to an academy in 2021, and it is part of the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and staff based on kindness and respect.
• Outstanding behaviour and engagement from pupils across school activities.
• Ambitious and broad curriculum that supports effective teaching and learning.
• Prioritization of reading supported by effective phonics instruction.
• Successful support for pupils with SEND through effective training and collaboration with external agencies.
• Emphasis on personal development with numerous opportunities for leadership and community engagement.
• High levels of staff dedication and positive staff morale.

Areas for Improvement

• Some learning activities in foundation subjects do not fully support intended learning outcomes.

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 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton 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 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% 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, 21.2% of pupils at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.3% 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 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton received £7,750 and spent £7,784 for each of its 154 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £233,000 (£1,513 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,338 and spending £7,295 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 Durham · County Durham local authority: places and applications

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which runs 31 schools. The nearest others:

• St Godrics Catholic Primary School, Thornley Durham
• St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College Peterlee
• Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School Peterlee
• St Marys Catholic Primary School, Wingate Co Durham
• Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Peterlee
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Blackhall Hartlepool
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Seaham Seaham
• St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School Seaham
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope Sunderland
• St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth Sunderland

What is Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton have?

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton has 156 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton cover?

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton?

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton is at Fleming Field, Shotton, Durham, County Durham, DH6 2JQ.