St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast, Buckfastleigh
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 7 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
St Mary's provides a warm, welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and happy, with particularly strong early years provision and inclusive support for all learners. The school offers rich enrichment opportunities including trips, visiting professionals, and after-school clubs that broaden pupils' experiences. Staff are approachable and work closely with parents and carers, creating strong partnerships.
Key Strengths
- Strong early years provision with high staff expectations and good phonics teaching
- Inclusive ethos with tailored support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
- Rich enrichment opportunities including trips, visiting professionals, and after-school clubs
- Pupils feel safe and show kindness to one another
- Parents are highly supportive and appreciate the approachable staff
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistent teaching quality means pupils make uneven progress, particularly in writing, spelling and grammar
- Behaviour expectations are not applied consistently, leading to low-level disruption in lessons
- Leadership checks on school improvement lack sufficient rigour to drive rapid change
- Some teachers do not use checks on learning well enough to address gaps in pupil knowledge
- Attendance needs further improvement across all pupil groups
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - the school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding with all legal requirements fulfilled, and pupils are made safer and feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Art clubs, drama clubs, chess clubs, after-school clubs, visits to museums in Exeter, national orchestra performances, marine biologist visits, Abbey workshops, play leader roles, school council, respect champions roles
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a welcoming school where pupils feel safe and happy. However, inconsistencies in teaching and behaviour management mean that pupils make uneven progress, and further improvement is needed in these key areas.
At a Glance
31.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 87% to 72%. Maths has declined from 87% to 67%. Writing has remained stable at around 67%.
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
153%
Over capacity
168 pupils
110 capacity
58 places over capacity
Area Demand Pressure - Buckfastleigh
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Buckfastleigh
Admissions Demand - Devon
Places available
9,263
Applications
6,758
Got 1st preference
96.2%
Got preferred school
98.9%
Primary admissions across Devon (2025/26)
Inspection History(4)
House Prices
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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.
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.
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.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.98161%
Overall absence
15.50388%
Persistent absence
129
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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