St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Thurrock · RM17 5RW

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 530 pupils, 18.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 19.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.2% absence rate Staff 19.8% turnover Financials £6,276 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

General Information

Address: Ward Avenue, Grays, RM17 5RW – View on map
Phone: 01375375826
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Emilie Poulteney
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 41 families put it first for 45 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 45 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

530 pupils out of 624 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 96
% eligible for free school meals: 18.1%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Thurrock average)
English as an additional language: 39% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19.8% a year (Thurrock 17.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 31% moved to another school, 69% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Thurrock: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Thurrock, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 19.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 45 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 34 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 66% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 9% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 3 percentage points below the Thurrock average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 66% against an expected 65%)
3-year average (expected standard): 66%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 80% · Writing 82% · Maths 78% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 82%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 105
Based on: 85 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolThurrock averageEngland↘ Falling Down 7 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 3 percentage points below the Thurrock average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 25th of 39 junior and primary schools in the area

#24Graham James Primary Academy67%
=25Abbots Hall Primary School66%
=25St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School66%
=25Stifford Clays Primary School66%
#28Purfleet Primary Academy65%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

=1Kenningtons Primary Academy88%
=1Quarry Hill Academy88%
=3Chadwell St Mary Primary School86%
=3Dilkes Academy86%
#5Harris Primary Academy Mayflower85%
#6West Thurrock Academy83%
#7Shaw Primary Academy82%
=8Aveley Primary School81%
=8Somers Heath Primary School81%
#10Benyon Primary School80%
#11Giffards Primary School78%
#12Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred76%
#13Lansdowne Primary Academy74%
=14The Gateway Primary Free School73%
=14Tudor Court Primary School73%
=14Woodside Academy73%
=17Holy Cross Catholic Primary School70%
=17St Mary's Catholic Primary School70%
=19Belmont Castle Academy69%
=19Orsett Church of England Primary School69%
=19Warren Primary School69%
=22Herringham Primary Academy68%
=22Tilbury Pioneer Academy68%
#24Graham James Primary Academy67%
=25Abbots Hall Primary School66%
=25St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School66%
=25Stifford Clays Primary School66%
#28Purfleet Primary Academy65%
#29Little Thurrock Primary School64%
#30Deneholm Primary School63%
#31Stanford-Le-Hope Primary School62%
#32St Joseph's Catholic Primary School61%
=33Bonnygate Primary School60%
=33Mossbourne Herd Lane Academy60%
#35Horndon-On-the-Hill CofE Primary School59%
#36Arthur Bugler Primary School58%
#37Bulphan Church of England Academy57%
#38East Tilbury Primary School56%
#39Thameside Primary School45%

View full Ofsted inspection report

24th of 32 primary schools in Thurrock for Ofsted rating

#22Shaw Primary AcademyGood
#23St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#24St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#25Stanford-Le-Hope Primary SchoolGood
#26Stifford Clays Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Dilkes AcademyOutstanding
#2Harris Primary Academy Chafford HundredOutstanding
#3Harris Primary Academy MayflowerOutstanding
#4Quarry Hill AcademyOutstanding
#5Abbots Hall Primary SchoolGood
#6Arthur Bugler Primary SchoolGood
#7Aveley Primary SchoolGood
#8Benyon Primary SchoolGood
#9Bonnygate Primary SchoolGood
#10Bulphan Church of England AcademyGood
#11Chadwell St Mary Primary SchoolGood
#12Deneholm Primary SchoolGood
#13East Tilbury Primary SchoolGood
#14Giffards Primary SchoolGood
#15Graham James Primary AcademyGood
#16Herringham Primary AcademyGood
#17Holy Cross Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#18Horndon-On-the-Hill CofE Primary SchoolGood
#19Kenningtons Primary AcademyGood
#20Little Thurrock Primary SchoolGood
#21Mossbourne Herd Lane AcademyGood
#22Shaw Primary AcademyGood
#23St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#24St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#25Stanford-Le-Hope Primary SchoolGood
#26Stifford Clays Primary SchoolGood
#27Tilbury Pioneer AcademyGood
#28Tudor Court Primary SchoolGood
#29Warren Primary SchoolGood
#30West Thurrock AcademyGood
#31Woodside AcademyGood
#32St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,276 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

25th of 39 primary schools in Thurrock for spending per pupil

#23Somers Heath Primary School£6,343
#24Bonnygate Primary School£6,304
#25St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School£6,276
#26Thameside Primary School£6,212
#27Dilkes Academy£6,142

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Bulphan Church of England Academy£9,525
#2St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£8,225
#3Holy Cross Catholic Primary School£7,858
#4St Mary's Catholic Primary School£7,822
#5Warren Primary School£7,711
#6Lansdowne Primary Academy£7,300
#7Stanford-Le-Hope Primary School£7,066
#8Aveley Primary School£6,955
#9Chadwell St Mary Primary School£6,901
#10Shaw Primary Academy£6,870
#11West Thurrock Academy£6,776
#12Stifford Clays Primary School£6,697
#13Woodside Academy£6,603
#14Kenningtons Primary Academy£6,585
#15Quarry Hill Academy£6,573
#16Herringham Primary Academy£6,571
#17Arthur Bugler Primary School£6,540
#18East Tilbury Primary School£6,460
#19Deneholm Primary School£6,432
#20Tilbury Pioneer Academy£6,379
#21Giffards Primary School£6,347
#22Benyon Primary School£6,344
#23Somers Heath Primary School£6,343
#24Bonnygate Primary School£6,304
#25St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School£6,276
#26Thameside Primary School£6,212
#27Dilkes Academy£6,142
#28The Gateway Primary Free School£6,116
#29Graham James Primary Academy£6,102
#30Abbots Hall Primary School£6,072
#31Tudor Court Primary School£6,008
#32Horndon-On-the-Hill CofE Primary School£5,988
#33Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred£5,910
#34Orsett Church of England Primary School£5,849
#35Little Thurrock Primary School£5,781
#36Harris Primary Academy Mayflower£5,744
#37Purfleet Primary Academy£5,664
#38Belmont Castle Academy£5,461
#39Mossbourne Herd Lane Academy£1,925

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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