Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #15 in Bradford public Top 12% UK

St Walburga's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

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

personMrs Elizabeth Fearnley

corporate_fareBLESSED CHRISTOPHER WHARTON CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST

location_onShipley, BD18 4RL

language Visit Website phone 1274531102

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2019

groups

Students

237

school

Expected Standard

80%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

St Walburga's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is a Academy converter primary school in Shipley, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 12% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St Walburga's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is an academy converter in Shipley, Bradford, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of BLESSED CHRISTOPHER WHARTON CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 227 pupils on roll, of whom 12% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 80% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 23% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #15 of 156 primaries in Bradford and #1,403 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2019. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 22.3:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.7 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

80%

LA 60%

Reading90% LA 73%

Writing87% LA 70%

Maths90% LA 71%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

74%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading81% LA 71% · Eng 74%

Writing77% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths81% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

77%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading83% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Writing83% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths90% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.1

Read

LA -0.6

-2.3 to 2.2

-0.1

Write

LA 0.1

-2.3 to 2.1

0.6

Maths

LA -0.1

-1.5 to 2.7

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 62%England 65%

Reading82% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing89% LA 76% · Eng 78%

Maths86% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.4

Read

LA 0.4

-2.7 to 1.9

2.2

Write

LA 0.6

0.1 to 4.3

1.5

Maths

LA 0.8

-0.5 to 3.5

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

87%

LA 60%

Reading97% LA 71%

Writing87% LA 75%

Maths97% LA 73%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.9

Read

LA 0.2

-0.3 to 4.1

0.7

Write

LA 0.7

-1.4 to 2.8

Maths

LA 0.8

0 to 4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

12 November 2024

Inspection Report

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05 July 2019

Inspection Report

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10 November 2016

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2019-07-05

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2012-05-14

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2006-10-02

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

1.3%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.9%(2 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 227 pupils. During this period, there were 3 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.3%, 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
2024/25 (Spring term)	227	3	1.3%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	224	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	235	4	1.7%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	235	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	229	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	238	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	237	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	232	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	235	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	232	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	227	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	228	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	227	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	224	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	231	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	231	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	233	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	236	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	236	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	234	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	233	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	234	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	236	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	236	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	235	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	229	0	0.0%	0.5%

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

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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 20 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 8 pupils

Physical Disability 4 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 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.

98.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

97.0%Positive

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

21.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree31%

agree56%

disagree6%

strongly disagree4%

don't know3%

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

strongly agree29%

agree55%

disagree9%

strongly disagree6%

don't know1%

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

strongly agree36%

agree30%

disagree10%

strongly disagree5%

don't know3%

not applicable16%

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

yes19%

no81%

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

strongly agree33%

agree53%

disagree7%

dont know7%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree38%

agree42%

disagree9%

strongly disagree1%

don't know10%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree45%

agree45%

disagree4%

strongly disagree1%

don't know4%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree36%

agree49%

disagree8%

strongly disagree4%

don't know3%

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

strongly agree34%

agree56%

disagree8%

strongly disagree1%

don't know1%

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

strongly agree31%

agree31%

disagree23%

strongly disagree9%

don't know5%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree36%

agree40%

disagree12%

strongly disagree3%

don't know9%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes88%

no12%

Top Primary Schools in Bradford

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

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Good

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Good

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Merlin Top Primary Academy

Outstanding

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Farfield Primary and Nursery School

Good

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School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

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 Bradford

Marshfield Primary

Brackenhill Primary School

Newhall Park Primary School

Merlin Top Primary Academy

Farfield Primary and Nursery School

Thornbury Primary Leadership Academy