St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School has been rated as good overall, reflecting a strong performance in various areas including education quality, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and management. The school fosters a welcoming environment underpinned by a strong Christian culture, making students feel safe and happy. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), generally achieve well and are well-prepared for the next stage of their education, thanks to an engaging curriculum and supportive staff relationships. The school’s connections with the local community enhance the students' experiences and character development.

Strengths

• Strong Christian culture that fosters a welcoming environment
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils
• Ambitious curriculum tailored to pupil needs, including SEND
• Effective support for pupils with SEND both academically and socially
• High priority on reading for pleasure with supportive staff
• Positive behaviour with effective handling of bullying incidents

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have misconceptions in their phonics knowledge that are not addressed consistently
• Limited opportunities in early years curriculum to develop children's vocabulary and ideas

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 25.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.2% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy received £6,408 and spent £6,607 for each of its 310 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £28,000 (£89 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,980 and spending £7,208 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Pudsey · Leeds local authority: places and applications

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Horsforth Leeds
• Holy Name Catholic Voluntary Academy Leeds
• Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Leeds
• St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Ilkley
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Otley Otley
• The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Ilkley
• St John Fisher Catholic Academy Harrogate
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Harrogate, A Voluntary Academy Harrogate
• St Robert's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Harrogate
• Barkston Ash Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Tadcaster

What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 297 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is at Mount Pleasant Road, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, LS28 7AZ.