St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School demonstrates a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of its pupils, fostering a positive environment where respect and responsibility are core values. Despite the challenges posed by a history of attendance issues and low achievement in national assessments, leadership has made notable strides in improving attendance, particularly among disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs. The early years provision is particularly strong, with an engaging curriculum and successful phonics teaching that prepares children well for their future education.

Strengths

• Strong commitment to safeguarding and pupil well-being.
• Effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Engaging early years curriculum that promotes curiosity and language development.
• Positive and respectful school culture with low incidents of bullying.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent quality of teaching across subjects.
• Historical weaknesses in the curriculum negatively impacting pupil achievement.
• Some pupils have not caught up with gaps in their knowledge due to past issues.

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 Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.9% 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, 3.0% of pupils at St Nicholas of Tolentine 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 Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 44.8% of pupils at St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School received £8,391 and spent £8,801 for each of its 135 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £132,000 (£978 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust, income was £6,065 and spending £6,112 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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is part of The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Bonaventure's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Bernard's Catholic Primary School Bristol
• St Francis Catholic Primary School Nailsea
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Portishead

What is St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School have?

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School has 125 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School cover?

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School?

St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is at Pennywell Road, Bristol, BS5 0TJ.