School Chooser

St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic221 pupilsNurseryStaffordStaffordshire
School Chooser Score
83
Above
similar schools
Likely range 56 to 94, so it could be “well above”
Out of 100. Better than 71% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1175%England 63%
Attendance95.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families11%Far fewer than most schools
Places5 spare221 pupils, 226 places
Pupils per teacher25.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll221Census January 2026

St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery is a converter academy in Stafford for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 221 pupils and room for 226. About 11 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 83 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 71% of the 50 schools most like it.

St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Garden Street, Stafford, ST17 4BT01785 413277st-austins.staffs.sch.ukMrs C Rowley executive headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

28 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1175%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level11%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score107.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 82%82%20172018: 70%70%20182019: 83%83%20192023: 65%65%20232024: 70%70%20242025: 75%75%2025
Since 2017: -7%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017StaffordshireEngland
Pupils tested283023303028
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths75%70%65%83%70%82%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths11%20%0%20%30%14%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0106.0105.0108.0107.0105.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score107.0106.0107.0109.0107.0106.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0109.0107.0112.0110.0111.0105.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard82%80%78%90%77%82%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard89%83%83%97%83%86%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)82%83%74%90%87%82%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.2+2.4+2.1+3.0
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.6+2.4+1.6+4.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged71%14%67%50%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged76%87%88%91%

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.

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. 1 of the 3 gaps is 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

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
71%76%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
64%82%
Gap 18 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%11%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

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.

A few spare places197 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
94% full

About 13 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 8% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

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 Staffordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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.

Pupils on roll221Census January 2026
Places22698% full
Pupils from low-income families10%11% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English12%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support8%17 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.36 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)12%£35,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls114 / 107
White British pupils67%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (5), Moderate learning difficulty (4), emotional and mental health (3), Specific learning difficulty (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll221198201184185189
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals10%13%17%14%16%15%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language12%16%17%22%21%18%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support12%10%10%10%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans0%0%0%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.1%5.6%6.5%7.1%3.2%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%4.4%5.5%6.2%2.6%2.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%1.1%1.0%0.9%0.6%1.1%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.0%11.9%18.8%21.3%8.8%5.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.02.04.411.41.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.5full-time equivalent, 11 people
Pupils per teacher25.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,255
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.52024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,414England £7,128. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£6,707England £7,587. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,869England £3,405
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £228k, £1,149 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£58kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,414spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m81412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate286 per 1,000 people214% higher than the England average
Typical house price£255,000Stafford
Nearest bus stop70 mThe Oval, 14 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy180 m97Not inspectedCompare
St Leonard's Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles222No overall grade 202425Compare
Flash Ley Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles189Good 202362Compare
Silkmore Primary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles252Outstanding 202467Compare
Rowley Park Primary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles182Good 202222Compare
John Wheeldon Primary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles536Good 201933Compare
St John's CofE Primary AcademyAcademy1.0 miles410Not inspected61Compare
St Patrick's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles213Good 202252Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery with the 45 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 45 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats71%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 83 is 9 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 15 · middle 74 · highest 98100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 83 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 83% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 56 to 94. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.15
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 28 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.03
DfE progress measure; 28 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.12
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.12
2024/25; 179 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.06
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 28 pupils
What parents say0%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 St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery scores 83 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 71% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 56 to 94, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

How good are St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 75% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 11% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery have?

221 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 226 places, so it is 98% full.

Is St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery oversubscribed?

Probably not. 13 places were empty in 2024/25 (6% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery?

Pupils were in school 95.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery?

The average class had 28.3 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
St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Garden Street, Stafford, ST17 4BT
Telephone
01785 413277
Website
www.st-austins.staffs.sch.uk
Executive Headteacher
Mrs C Rowley
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Birmingham
Multi-academy trust
St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (64 schools)
Local authority
Staffordshire
Ward
Forebridge
Constituency
Stafford
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2016 (academy converter)
URN
142209 · LAESTAB 8603468 · UKPRN 10053368
Formerly
St Austin's Catholic (VA) Primary School

Where these figures come from