Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #61 in Plymouth public Top 85% UK

The Cathedral School of St Mary

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

person Mrs Roisin Wright (Executive Headteacher)

corporate_farePLYMOUTH CAST

location_onPlymouth, PL1 5HW

language Visit Website phone 01752265270

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

113

school

Expected Standard

47%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.8x

summarize

The Cathedral School of St Mary is a Academy converter primary school in Plymouth, serving ages 4-11. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Ranks in the top 85% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

The Cathedral School of St Mary is an academy converter in Plymouth, admitting pupils aged 4-11. It is part of PLYMOUTH CAST. The school has approximately 102 pupils on roll, of whom 52% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 47% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 7% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #61 of 65 primaries in Plymouth and #12,068 of 14,159 nationally.

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

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 15.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 1.0 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

47%

LA 61%

Reading60% LA 71%

Writing60% LA 70%

Maths47% LA 70%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

44%

LA 59%England 61%

Reading56% LA 69% · Eng 74%

Writing67% LA 69% · Eng 72%

Maths67% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

33%

LA 54%England 60%

Reading47% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing73% LA 67% · Eng 71%

Maths60% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.8

Read

LA -0.3

-6.4 to 0.8

0.3

Write

LA 0.3

-3.2 to 3.7

-3.4

Maths

LA -0.2

-6.9 to 0.1

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

53%

LA 61%England 65%

Reading59% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Writing65% LA 73% · Eng 78%

Maths71% LA 74% · Eng 79%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.5

Read

LA -0.2

-4.7 to 1.7

-3.1

Write

LA -0.5

-6.1 to -0.1

-1.4

Maths

LA 0.0

-4.2 to 1.5

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

21%

LA 58%

Reading64% LA 68%

Writing79% LA 71%

Maths43% LA 68%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.8

Read

LA 0.0

-5.1 to 1.5

0.4

Write

LA 0.0

-2.7 to 3.5

-3.1

Maths

LA -0.1

-6.1 to -0.1

leaderboard

Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Primary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	Attainment	Progress
2025	#12,068 / 14,159	#61	#12,007	#1
2024	#11,936 / 14,233	#61	#11,748	#1
2023	#12,696 / 13,940	#60	#12,653	#11,458
2019	#10,770 / 11,810	#58	#9,683	#10,250
2018	#10,417 / 10,972	#49	#10,892	#8,960

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

29 April 2025

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

15 November 2022

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

19 January 2017

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

03 April 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

5 Evaluations

2025-04-29

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Report Card

info

Why no single overall grade?

From autumn 2024 / 2025, Ofsted replaced single-word headline grades (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate) with individual area judgements on a Report Card.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2022-11-15

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2017-01-19

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

2009-12-07

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2007-02-06

None EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

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

0.9%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.9%(1 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 108 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.9%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	108	1	0.9%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	100	1	1.0%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	112	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	109	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	105	6	5.7%	0.8%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	109	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	113	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	111	2	1.8%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	107	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	99	1	1.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	101	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	102	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	99	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	94	2	2.1%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	105	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	105	1	1.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	102	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	95	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	101	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	100	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	104	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	103	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	104	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	116	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	120	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	116	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

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 6 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 6 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 3 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

100%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

97%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

24%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree76%

agree17%

disagree7%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree76%

agree21%

strongly disagree3%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree55%

agree14%

disagree3%

don't know3%

not applicable24%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree59%

agree31%

disagree3%

don't know7%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree76%

agree17%

don't know7%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree79%

agree21%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree79%

agree17%

don't know3%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree76%

agree17%

disagree3%

strongly disagree3%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree76%

agree21%

don't know3%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes93%

no7%

Top Primary Schools in Plymouth

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Mayflower Academy

Outstanding

location_on Plymouth, PL2 2NJ

emoji_events #1 in LA

Pennycross Primary School

Expected standard

location_on Plymouth, PL2 3RL

emoji_events #2 in LA

Ernesettle Community School

Outstanding

location_on Plymouth, PL5 2RB

emoji_events #3 in LA

Marine Academy Primary

Outstanding

location_on Plymouth, PL5 2AF

emoji_events #4 in LA

Compton CofE Primary School

Good

location_on Plymouth, PL3 5JB

emoji_events #5 in LA

Tor Bridge Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Plymouth, PL6 8EE

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Plymouth arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ranking History & Trajectory

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Roman Catholic)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Plymouth

Mayflower Academy

Pennycross Primary School

Ernesettle Community School

Marine Academy Primary

Compton CofE Primary School

Tor Bridge Primary School