Catherine Infant School
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Catherine Infant School is a council school in Leicester for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 378 pupils and room for 420. About 15 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 79 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 67% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2019.
Ulverscroft Road, Catherine Infant School, Leicester, LE4 6BY0116 262 5422catherine-inf.leicester.sch.ukMr Mitesh Madhaw headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 19 November 2019, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A later, shorter visit on 26 February 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 26 February 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (83 offers for 120 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 120 | 83 | – all offered | LA |
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 10 pupils, for autism.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Leicester with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (54), Moderate learning difficulty (10), Other difficulty or disability (7), emotional and mental health (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Severe learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 378 | 391 | 408 | 398 | 394 | 393 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 13% | 14% | 11% | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 83% | 85% | 85% | 85% | 87% | 89% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 11% | 14% | 16% | 10% | 11% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 6% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.6% 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 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 7.8% | 7.2% | 3.1% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.5% | 4.3% | 4.9% | 4.2% | 2.4% | 3.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.9% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 16.9% | 20.2% | 31.7% | 26.7% | 9.0% | 9.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine Junior School | Council | 230 m | 454 | Good 2023 | 9 | Compare |
| Taylor Road Primary School | Academy | 570 m | 612 | No overall grade 2025 | – | Compare |
| Shenton Primary School | Academy | 780 m | 360 | Good 2020 | 14 | Compare |
| Abbey Mead Primary Academy | Academy | 860 m | 718 | Outstanding 2024 | 96 | Compare |
| Green Lane Infant School | Academy | 860 m | 278 | Good 2023 | 19 | Compare |
| Saint Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy | Academy | 870 m | 221 | Good 2023 | 27 | Compare |
| Charnwood Primary School | Academy | 910 m | 400 | No overall grade 2025 | 20 | Compare |
| Bridge Junior School | Academy | 940 m | 295 | Requires improvement 2022 | 1 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Catherine Infant School with the 46 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 79 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 79% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 55 to 91. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 11% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | well above | +0.71 | Ofsted grade, 6.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.23 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.10 | 2024/25; 260 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Catherine Infant School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Catherine Infant School scores 79 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 67% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 55 to 91, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Catherine Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Catherine Infant School outstanding at its last full inspection on 19 November 2019. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Catherine Infant School have?
378 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 90% full.
Is Catherine Infant School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Catherine Infant School?
Pupils were in school 94.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Catherine Infant School?
The average class had 23.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does Catherine Infant School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Ulverscroft Road, Catherine Infant School, Leicester, LE4 6BY
- Telephone
- 0116 262 5422
- Website
- www.catherine-inf.leicester.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Mitesh Madhaw
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Leicester
- Ward
- Belgrave
- Constituency
- Leicester East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 120002 · LAESTAB 8562213 · UKPRN 10074048
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.
- 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.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Leicester council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- 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.