School Chooser

St Helen's Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11Roman Catholic317 pupilsNurseryBarryVale of Glamorgan
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWales doesn't publish results for primary schools, so there is nothing to score. Attendance, pupils, staffing and budget are below.
Attendance93.3%Wales 92.8%
Pupils from low-income families13%
Pupils with additional learning needs2%
Pupils on roll317
NeighbourhoodBelow-average income areaWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025
Pupils per teacher23.0

St Helen's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) in Barry for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 317 pupils. Teaching is in English.

Maes-Y-Cwm Street, Barry, CF63 4EH01446 700034All details

Inspection

Schools in Wales are inspected by Estyn, not Ofsted. Since September 2022 Estyn's reports describe what a school does well and what it needs to work on, without giving a grade.

Estyn's latest report, and any follow-up visits, are on Estyn's website. The only schools given a formal label are those in special measures or needing significant improvement.

Results

Wales stopped publishing results for individual primary schools in 2019, so there are none to show. Attendance, pupil numbers and staffing below come from the Welsh Government's My Local School.

Getting a place

There is no entrance test. The council hands out the places. Brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups go first; after that, the closer you live, the better your chances. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first.

Teaching is in English.

You apply through Vale of Glamorgan council, not the school.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll317
Pupils from low-income families13%Three-year average; Wales –
Pupils getting extra support2%Additional learning needs; Wales –
Pupils learning English28%First language is not English or Welsh
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils38%
LanguageEnglish mediumEnglish medium school / provision
NeighbourhoodBelow-average income areaIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 4 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals12.9%14.6%15.8%15.9%12.8%9.8%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)2.0%3.1%3.0%9.8%11.8%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language27.6%27.5%17.4%17.7%16.6%19.8%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils37.6%37.6%32.4%29.7%30.2%30.4%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.3% of the time. Across primary schools in Wales it was 92.8%. Wales doesn't publish figures on pupils who miss a lot of school, or on exclusions, for individual schools.

Attendance93.3%
Wales 92.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 95.0%95.0%20192023: 92.0%92.0%20232024: 92.7%92.7%20242025: 93.3%93.3%2025
Since 2019: -1.7%

Staff and budget

From the Welsh Government's My Local School, 2025/26.

Budget per pupil£4,9472025/26, Wales £5,678
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 3,8783,87820202021: 3,9633,96320212022: 3,9473,94720222023: 4,2214,22120232024: 4,2624,26220242025: 4,5984,59820252026: 4,9474,9472026
Since 2020: +1,069

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £731 less than the Welsh average for primary schools. Small and rural schools tend to get more per pupil.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1,02012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate149 per 1,000 people63% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop60 mWyndham Street, 28 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
Holton Primary SchoolCouncil310 m383Estyn, no gradeCompare
Jenner Park PrimaryCouncil520 m205Estyn, no gradeCompare
Gladstone Primary SchoolCouncil590 m434Estyn, no gradeCompare
Ysgol Sant CurigCouncil880 m433Estyn, no gradeCompare
Oakfield Primary SchoolCouncil910 m156Estyn, no gradeCompare
Ysgol Gynradd Gwaun Y NantCouncil980 m209Estyn, no gradeCompare
Cadoxton Community PrimaryCouncil0.7 miles460Estyn, no gradeCompare
High Street Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles232Estyn, no gradeCompare

Questions parents ask

Is St Helen's Catholic Primary School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score St Helen's Catholic Primary School yet.

How many pupils does St Helen's Catholic Primary School have?

317 pupils aged 3 to 11.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Maes-Y-Cwm Street, Barry, CF63 4EH
Telephone
01446 700034
Type of school
Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Local authority
Vale of Glamorgan
Ward
Buttrills
Constituency
Vale of Glamorgan
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
URN
402395 · School number 6733373
Language
English medium school / provision

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “Primary” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Voluntary aided school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “317” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “12.9” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “Roman Catholic” to “–”

Where these figures come from