St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School is a small, welcoming Catholic primary in the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust. Pupils enjoy a broad and ambitious curriculum, feel safe, behave well and develop strong, trusting relationships with staff. The school's religious character is woven through the curriculum and is reflected in warm, respectful relationships. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5 since converting to academy status; its predecessor school was previously judged good. All key areas of provision were judged good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has revised and sequenced its curriculum from the early years, with particular strengths in early literacy and numeracy, phonics, reading, support for pupils with SEND, and personal development. Pupils benefit from clubs, leadership roles, charity work and trips, and most attend well. Trust leaders and governors provide effective challenge and support, and staff are well supported with training and workload. The main area for improvement is assessment. Checks on pupils' learning are inconsistent, so teaching is not always precisely matched to some pupils' needs, and some pupils occasionally lose concentration and do not achieve as well as they could. Some curriculum subjects are also new and in the early stages of implementation. The school has been asked to intensify its actions to improve curriculum implementation and ensure assessment informs learning so that all pupils achieve their best.

Strengths

• Small, welcoming school with warm and respectful relationships
• Broad and ambitious curriculum that is carefully sequenced from the early years
• Pupils feel safe, behave well and have positive attitudes to learning
• Strong early years provision, including early numeracy and literacy
• Effective phonics teaching with regular checks and timely support
• Pupils enjoy reading and older pupils support younger readers
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Personal development rooted in Catholic values, including respect, health and safety
• Wide range of clubs, leadership roles, trips and charity activities
• Effective trust and governance support, with consideration for staff workload and welfare
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment checks on pupils' learning are inconsistent
• Teaching is not consistently well matched to some pupils' needs
• Some pupils lose concentration and do not achieve as well as they could
• Some curriculum subjects are new and in the early stages of implementation

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 Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.1% 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 Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett 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 Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett had 11.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.7% 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, 30.7% of pupils at St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.7% 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 Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett received £8,778 and spent £10,348 for each of its 84 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £157,000 (-£1,868 per pupil).

Across all 46 schools of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,708 and spending £7,760 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 Consett · County Durham local authority: places and applications

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett is part of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Blackhill Consett
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Consett Consett
• Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate Consett
• St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester Durham
• All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Durham
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton Stanley
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor Stanley
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley Stanley
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Byermoor Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village Durham

What is St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett's Ofsted rating?

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

When was St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett last inspected by Ofsted?

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett have?

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett has 75 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett cover?

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett?

St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett is at Thornfield Road, The Grove, Consett, County Durham, DH8 8AX.