Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up Places Available emoji_events #2 in Cumberland public Top 20% UK

St Mary's Catholic Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Susan Starkie

location_onWhitehaven, CA28 9PG

language Visit Website phone 194666356

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

197

school

Expected Standard

76%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Whitehaven, serving ages 3-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Ranks in the top 20% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Whitehaven, Cumberland, admitting pupils aged 3-11. The school has approximately 190 pupils on roll, of whom 28% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 76% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 12% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #2 of 111 primaries in Cumberland and #1,970 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Outstanding. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Outstanding, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

76%

LA 55%

Reading96% LA 72%

Writing88% LA 68%

Maths84% LA 68%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

78%

LA 52%England 61%

Reading89% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing78% LA 66% · Eng 72%

Maths81% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

79%

LA 53%England 60%

Reading83% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 67% · Eng 71%

Maths83% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.9

Read

LA -0.4

-4.5 to 0.7

-0.9

Write

LA -0.2

-3.3 to 1.6

-0.7

Maths

LA -1.2

-3.1 to 1.7

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

88%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading92% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Writing92% LA 79% · Eng 78%

Maths96% LA 76% · Eng 79%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.3

Read

LA 0.2

-2.1 to 2.6

2.1

Write

LA 0.3

-0.1 to 4.3

0.5

Maths

LA -0.8

-1.6 to 2.5

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

81%

LA 64%

Reading95% LA 79%

Writing81% LA 79%

Maths100% LA 76%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

112

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.3

Read

LA 0.4

0.7 to 5.9

3.8

Write

LA 0.5

1.3 to 6.3

3.1

Maths

LA -0.3

0.8 to 5.4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 May 2025

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

04 March 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

09 January 2012

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

04 June 2009

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

24 January 2006

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

26 June 2000

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-05-07

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Outstanding

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

2014-03-04

S5 Inspection EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2009-06-04

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 190 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	190	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	189	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	206	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	200	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	188	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	197	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	197	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	187	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	197	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	196	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	194	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	212	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	201	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	192	1	0.5%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	207	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	207	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	199	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	218	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	214	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	203	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	212	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	211	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	201	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	218	5	2.3%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	219	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	199	0	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

accessibility_new

psychology_alt

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 10 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 9 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 4 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

Top Primary Schools in Cumberland

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Bookwell Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Egremont, CA22 2LT

emoji_events #1 in LA