Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #59 in County Durham public Top 11% UK

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle

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

personMrs Lesley Ann Box

corporate_fareBISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST

location_onBarnard Castle, DL12 8JR

language Visit Website phone 1833637029

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2019

groups

Students

100

school

Expected Standard

81%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle is a Academy converter primary school in Barnard Castle, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 11% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle is an academy converter in Barnard Castle, County Durham, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. The school has approximately 100 pupils on roll, of whom 18% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 81% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 31% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #59 of 185 primaries in County Durham and #4,498 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2019. The school's current overall rating is Good. 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 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 25.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.5 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

81%

LA 60%

Reading94% LA 72%

Writing88% LA 72%

Maths94% LA 72%

Read SS

111

Maths SS

109

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading94% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing81% LA 71% · Eng 72%

Maths81% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

92%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading100% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing92% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths92% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.5

Read

LA -0.6

-0.1 to 7.0

5.6

Write

LA -0.1

2.2 to 9.0

0.5

Maths

LA -0.9

-2.8 to 3.8

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

12 November 2024

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

28 June 2022

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2019-11-27

Exempt School Inspection EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

2012-10-10

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

1.0%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.0%(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 100 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.0%, 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)	100	1	1.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	100	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	104	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	99	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	98	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	107	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	100	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	99	0	0.0%	0.6%

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.

Specific Learning Difficulty 9 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 8 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 6 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 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.

100.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

100.0%Positive

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

9.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree84%

agree13%

disagree3%

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

strongly agree53%

agree28%

disagree6%

strongly disagree6%

don't know6%

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

strongly agree34%

agree13%

strongly disagree3%

don't know3%

not applicable47%

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 agree75%

agree22%

disagree3%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree81%

agree16%

disagree3%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree72%

agree25%

disagree3%

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

strongly agree78%

agree16%

disagree3%

don't know3%

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

strongly agree75%

agree19%

disagree3%

strongly disagree3%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree81%

agree16%

strongly disagree3%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes97%

no3%

Top Primary Schools in County Durham

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

West Cornforth Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Ferryhill, DL17 9HP

emoji_events #1 in LA

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Outstanding

location_on Ferryhill, DL17 8QY

emoji_events #2 in LA

Sacriston Academy

Good

location_on Durham, DH7 6LQ

emoji_events #3 in LA

Coxhoe Primary School

Good

location_on Durham, DH6 4EJ

emoji_events #4 in LA

Framwellgate Moor Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Durham, DH1 5BG

emoji_events #5 in LA

Burnopfield Primary School

Good

location_on Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE16 6PT

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in County Durham arrow_forward

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 County Durham

West Cornforth Primary School

Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Sacriston Academy

Coxhoe Primary School

Framwellgate Moor Primary School

Burnopfield Primary School