St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Moorthorpe has been evaluated as a good school, continuing to meet this designation since its last inspection in February 2017. The school fosters a positive environment where pupils feel happy, safe, and respected, underpinned by a strong focus on virtues like kindness and generosity. Pupils are encouraged to be independent learners, and the curriculum is ambitious and carefully structured to address the educational gaps that have arisen due to COVID-19.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a respectful and caring school atmosphere.
• High expectations from staff encourage pupils to be independent.
• There is a strong focus on early reading and phonics.
• Teachers use ambitious vocabulary, helping pupils articulate their thoughts with sophistication.
• Support for pupils with SEND is effective, ensuring inclusion in the curriculum.
• Pupils demonstrate mature understanding of diversity and tolerance.

Areas for Improvement

• Not all teachers consistently check for gaps in pupils' knowledge, which can lead to unaddressed misconceptions.

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, Moorthorpe attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.1% 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, 0.9% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe 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, Moorthorpe had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.0% 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, 19.6% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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, Moorthorpe received £6,802 and spent £6,929 for each of its 207 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £624,000 (£3,020 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,890 and spending £7,055 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is part of The Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Pontefract
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract Pontefract
• Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Pontefract
• St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy Pontefract
• St. John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Normanton
• St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy Wakefield
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford Castleford
• St Austin's Catholic Primary School Wakefield
• English Martyrs Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Wakefield
• St Ignatius Catholic Primary School Wakefield

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

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

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe was last inspected in September 2022.

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

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe has 204 pupils on roll.

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

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

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

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is at Barnsley Road, Moorthorpe, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF9 2BP.