St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame is a caring and ambitious school where pupils are happy, safe and behave well. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, following a period of significant change after joining The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company. Leaders, including the trust and interim education board, have provided stability and strong support, and staff and parents describe a family feel. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, strong early reading, effective SEND support and a wide range of personal development opportunities. Early years is vibrant, and pupils' attitudes to learning are positive. There are two clear areas for improvement. Assessment is not yet consistently embedded across the wider curriculum, so in some subjects leaders cannot be sure pupils have retained key knowledge and misconceptions may go unaddressed. Attendance has improved overall, but a small number of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, still miss too much school. The school is working with parents to address this. Safeguarding is effective.

Strengths

• Pupils are kind, happy and feel safe, with good manners underpinning daily life.
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, and achievement is improving.
• Pupils behave consistently well and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Personal development is a strength, with extensive leadership and enrichment opportunities.
• The curriculum has been extensively reviewed and critical knowledge and skills identified.
• Early reading is taught well, with books matched to pupils' phonics knowledge and effective catch-up support.
• Children thrive in the vibrant early years provision.
• Support for pupils with SEND is strong, with accurate identification and highly skilled in-class support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders provide stability and expertise, and the trust and interim education board offer strong support and challenge.
• Staff feel valued and loyal, and many describe the school as having a family feel.
• The PSHE curriculum and promotion of fundamental British values are thoughtful and comprehensive.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment approaches in some wider curriculum subjects are not yet firmly embedded.
• In some subjects, gaps in pupils' knowledge or misconceptions may remain unaddressed.
• A small number of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, still miss too much school.
• Persistent absence remains a concern for some disadvantaged pupils.

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, Thame attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.2% 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, Thame 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, Thame had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.3% 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, 13.0% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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, Thame received £6,656 and spent £7,072 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £176,000 (-£950 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company, income was £7,222 and spending £7,198 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 South Oxfordshire · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame is part of The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary School Oxford
• St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Littlemore Oxford
• Greyfriars Catholic School Oxford
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Bicester Bicester
• St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Kidlington Kidlington
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Witney Witney
• St John's Catholic Primary School Banbury
• Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth Form Banbury
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Carterton Carterton
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Banbury Banbury

What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame have?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame has 162 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame cover?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame is at Brook Lane, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2AB.