Good Shepherd RC School

About Good Shepherd RC School

Good Shepherd RC School in Lewisham received a Requires Improvement rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in January 2025, a notable shift from the Good rating it had held in its previous inspection back in 2011. The inspection report, published in March 2025, gave the school Requires Improvement for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, while personal development was rated Good. The most telling academic metric for this primary school is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard: only 47% of pupils reached this benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. That is well below the Lewisham local authority average of 64% and places the school 54th out of 59 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the bottom half nationally. Just 3% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects.

Looking more closely at the KS2 results, there is a mixed picture across subjects. Reading was the strongest area, with 80% of pupils reaching the expected standard and an average scaled score of 105, while 20% achieved the higher standard. Writing saw 70% at expected and 7% at the higher level. Maths was weaker, with only 50% reaching the expected standard and an average score of 101, though 23% did achieve the higher standard. The school does not publish progress scores for any subject, so it is not possible to see how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. In the Parent View survey, which ran from September 2024 to September 2025, 81% of the 16 respondents would recommend the school to other parents. Responses were notably positive on happiness and safety, with 88% agreeing or strongly agreeing that their child is happy, and 82% agreeing or strongly agreeing that their child feels safe.

The school has a nursery provision for children from age three and offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, art studios, outdoor playground, playing fields, forest school, library and chapel. Clubs include coding, drama, film club and science club, and sports on offer are rounders, tennis, athletics, dance and gymnastics. For children with special educational needs, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, hearing impairment and social, emotional and mental health needs. The school was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 63 applications for 27 places and 25 first-preference offers. This is a small Roman Catholic primary with 212 pupils against a capacity of 290, and 26.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. It will suit families who value a faith-based setting and are comfortable with a school that is currently working through an improvement journey following its recent Ofsted outcome.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Good Shepherd RC School

Helpful Guides for Parents