Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School
Little Wheatley Chase, Rayleigh, SS6 9EH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ASSISI CATHOLIC TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr P Parascandolo
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Sponsor
- Assisi Catholic Trust
- Constituency
- Rayleigh and Wickford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 420
- URN
- 145996
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268785741
About this school
Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Rayleigh. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 420 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 January 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 62 | 32 | 64 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 68% | 78% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 13% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 91% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 94% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 85% | 91% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 399 |
| 2023/24 | 401 |
| 2024/25 | 422 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School compares
Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School ranked 150th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 4.3% | 9.2% | 420 | — |
| St Nicholas Church of England Primary School | 32% | 7% | 11.4% | 141 | 0.7 miles |
| Glebe Primary School | 60% | 5.6% | 20.3% | 403 | 0.7 miles |
| Down Hall Primary School | 81% | 4.9% | 17.5% | 272 | 1.0 miles |
| Rayleigh Primary School | 78% | 4% | 17.9% | 463 | 1.0 miles |
| Edward Francis Primary School | 57% | 4.2% | 9.4% | 423 | 1.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 9.24%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.26%
- Persistent absence
- 6.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Nicholas Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Rayleigh
-
Glebe Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Rayleigh
-
Down Hall Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Rayleigh
-
Rayleigh Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Rayleigh
-
Edward Francis Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Rayleigh
Other schools in Rayleigh
Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School ranks 3rd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Rayleigh.
- Down Hall Primary School Primary
- Edward Francis Primary School Primary
- Glebe Primary School Primary
- Grove Wood Primary School Primary
- Rayleigh Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Primary
- Wyburns Primary School Primary
- The FitzWimarc School Secondary
- The Sweyne Park School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School teach?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Rayleigh.
- Who is the headteacher of Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School is Mr P Parascandolo, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School has 420 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School full?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 420 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Does Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School is part of ASSISI CATHOLIC TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 68% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School ranked 150th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 10 July 2026.