Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School
Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School is a sponsored academy in Birmingham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 199 pupils and room for 232. About 57 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inadequate, back in 2022.
Oliver Road, Ladywood, Birmingham, B16 9ER0121 454 0600theoratoryschool.co.ukMrs Mary Lynch headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 30 November 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Inadequate overall.
Ofsted has serious worries about this school. It is in special measures.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
26 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of The Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 26 | 30 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 30 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 47% | 44% | 50% | 60% | 57% | 65% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 10% | 4% | 7% | 0% | 3% | 8% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 102.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.6 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 98.0 | 104.0 | 101.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 | 104.9 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 102.0 | 107.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 | 106.5 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 58% | 67% | 70% | 60% | 77% | 63% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 54% | 63% | 63% | 87% | 70% | 77% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 35% | 53% | 74% | 77% | 70% | 70% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | +0.1 | -1.7 | +1.5 | +0.2 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -2.7 | +0.4 | -0.4 | -0.7 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | 31% | 53% | 50% | 50% | 47% | 53% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | 38% | 40% | 40% | 50% | 77% | 64% | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
† These results are for The Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At the end of primary school, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Birmingham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.8 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (14), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (6), emotional and mental health (6), language and communications needs (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Hearing impairment (1).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 6.0% | 7.2% | 8.4% | 5.8% | 3.8% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.1% | 4.1% | 4.9% | 3.4% | 2.6% | 2.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.9% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 2.4% | 1.3% | 1.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 20.4% | 26.0% | 27.7% | 14.6% | 11.4% | 6.0% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for The Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St John's & St Peter's CofE Primary | Academy | 410 m | 209 | Good 2024 | 59 | Compare |
| St George's Church of England Primary School | Academy | 480 m | 259 | Report card 2026 | 17 | Compare |
| Barford Primary School | Council | 890 m | 409 | Good 2023 | 45 | Compare |
| Nelson Primary School | Council | 950 m | 443 | Not inspected | 81 | Compare |
| St Patrick and St Edmund's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 0.6 miles | 296 | Good 2024 | 19 | Compare |
| City Road Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 456 | Good 2023 | 56 | Compare |
| Summerfield Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 391 | Requires improvement 2022 | 2 | Compare |
| Brookfields Primary School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 391 | Good 2023 | 50 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School a good school?
Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it inadequate at its last inspection in November 2022.
What is Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School inadequate at its last full inspection on 30 November 2022.
How good are Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 35% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School have?
199 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 232 places, so it is 86% full.
What is attendance like at Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School?
Pupils were in school 94.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 20% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Blessed Dominic Barberi Catholic Primary School?
The average class had 24.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Oliver Road, Ladywood, Birmingham, B16 9ER
- Telephone
- 0121 454 0600
- Website
- www.theoratoryschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Mary Lynch
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Multi-academy trust
- St. John Paul Ii Multi Academy Company (13 schools)
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Ward
- Ladywood
- Constituency
- Birmingham Ladywood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2025 (new provision)
- URN
- 150954 · LAESTAB 3302222 · UKPRN 10095485
- Formerly
- The Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.