St Mary The Virgin C.I.W. Primary School, Cardiff

St Mary The Virgin C.I.W. Primary School is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 195 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

44% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 11% have additional learning needs (53% in 2020/21); 77% are learning English as an additional language; and 96% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 17 pupils (Year 6) to 24 (Year 2).

Estyn's report on its November 2025 inspection summarises St Mary The Virgin C.I.W. Primary School like this:

"Saint Mary the Virgin Church in Wales School lies at the heart of the local area and is a focal point of its diverse community. Leaders, governors and staff work hard to build strong relationships with the school family and a wide range of external partners. A notable strength of this highly inclusive school is the positive well-being and family ethos where all staff and pupils feel happy and safe. Effective safeguarding and thoughtful nurturing practices support a culture that celebrates diversity and enables all pupils to flourish academically, socially and personally. Teachers and support staff build strong relationships with pupils and understand their needs well."

"In many classes the quality of teaching ensures that many pupils, including those with additional learning needs and those with barriers to learning, make good progress from their starting points. School leaders and teachers work collaboratively to design an inclusive and authentic inquiry-based curriculum that provides pupils with suitable learning experiences across all areas of learning. Most pupils engage well in lessons and are keen to talk about their learning. However, on occasions provision does not always support pupils to apply their skills across the curriculum well enough. Communication with families is open and effective and staff work closely with parents."

"Leaders are visible at key times during the school day and parents trust that the school is doing the best for all pupils and considers their views. Overall, the school works hard to build trust with all families and provide a broad range of effective interventions to support all pupils across the school. Leaders, staff and governors understand the community well, consequently they ensure the school provides and delivers the best opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all pupils. Leaders and governors work well together and identify key priorities to improve the school. However, their evaluation of the areas for improvement do not always focus sharply enough on the quality of teaching, including the variability in its effectiveness, and on outcomes for all pupils."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Improve the consistency of teaching across the school so that all pupils experience high-quality learning; (2) Ensure that teachers provide beneficial learning opportunities to support pupils to apply their skills progressively across the curriculum, especially in Welsh oracy and numeracy; (3) Strengthen self-evaluation processes to focus more sharply on pupil progress and the impact of teaching on learning outcomes.

In its own words: "Croeso! Welcome to our vibrant school community in the heart of Butetown. As Head Teacher, it is my joy and privilege to lead a school that celebrates both faith and diversity . Our school is a place where children from many cultures, languages, and backgrounds come together to learn, grow, and thrive in a nurturing Christian environment."

The nearest other state primary schools to St Mary The Virgin C.I.W. Primary School are St Cuthbert's R.C. Primary School (0.3 miles), Grange Town Primary (0.7 miles), St Patrick's R.C. Primary School (0.7 miles) and Mount Stuart Primary (0.7 miles).

The nearest railway station is Cardiff Central Station, about 420 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

24 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is North Church Street (after), 80 metres away.