Bishop Ellis Catholic Voluntary Academy, Leicester

Primary
Academy converter
Mixed
Roman Catholic
Ages 511

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~593m)Possible (~847m)Unlikely (~1.1km)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr Andrew Monaghan
Pupils:232 / 341 capacity
LA:Leicestershire
Phone:01162695510
Address:Barkby Thorpe Lane, Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8GP
Trust:ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:1 June 2022

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Inspected 20 May 2025View full report
URN:149144
UKPRN:10090474
Diocese:Diocese of Nottingham
Constituency:Melton and Syston
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Bishop Ellis is a warm, welcoming school where children are happy and feel safe. Teaching is strong with staff using skilled questioning to help children understand their learning, and the school is particularly ambitious in supporting all pupils, including those with additional needs. The school creates a caring community where children develop leadership skills, show respect for each other, and achieve well, particularly in English and mathematics.

Key Strengths

  • Well-sequenced curriculum with meaningful connections between subjects and regular revisiting of key knowledge
  • Effective teaching with skilled questioning and strong subject knowledge across staff
  • Pupils learn to read well with effective phonics routines and additional support for struggling readers
  • Ambitious approach to supporting pupils with SEND who access learning and achieve success alongside peers
  • Strong behaviour expectations with studious classrooms and positive pupil attitudes to learning

Areas for Improvement

  • Learning opportunities in some wider curriculum subjects do not consistently stretch and extend pupils' understanding
  • Some areas of the early years curriculum do not always provide sufficient challenge to extend children's knowledge further

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Extracurricular Activities

Board games club, pupil sports leaders, eco-warriors group, school council, chaplaincy leaders, outdoor kitchen activities

Bishop Ellis Catholic Voluntary Academy is a caring school held in high regard by the school community, where pupils are happy, feel safe, and achieve well. The school has maintained the standards identified at its previous inspection through effective action and consistent commitment to improvement.

At a Glance

14.7%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

36 responses
Would recommend100%
Child is happy97%
Well taught94%
Good progress100%
Feels safe100%
Well behaved97%
Bullying dealt with11%
Kept informed100%
Handles concerns56%
Wider development94%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading-21ppMaths-15ppWriting-3pp

Reading has declined from 80% to 59%. Maths has declined from 84% to 69%. Writing has remained stable at around 81%.

Class Sizes

30.1

Avg class size

29.7

Infant (KS1)

30.5

KS2

7

Total classes

2 classes with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

ASDA (adj)
82m · 1 min walk
Barkby Thorpe Lane (outside)
89m · 1 min walk
Charnwood Avenue (opposite)
146m · 2 min walk
Highway Road (before)
190m · 3 min walk
Pizza Hut (opp)
210m · 3 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

68%

Available places

232 pupils

341 capacity

109 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Leicester

Low pressure
New homes approved:12,815
Projected new pupils:3,204

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Leicester

Admissions Demand - Leicestershire

Low demand0.78x oversubscription

Places available

8,747

Applications

6,780

Got 1st preference

95.4%

Got preferred school

99.6%

Primary admissions across Leicestershire (2025/26)

Inspection History

20 May 2025

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

5.0276%

Overall absence

8.41121%

Persistent absence

214

Enrolments

Authorised4.00959%
Unauthorised1.01801%
Persistent (10%+)8.41121%
Severe (50%+)0.93458%

Absence trend

5.42723%
22/23
4.90086%
23/24
5.0276%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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