St Joachim's Catholic Primary School

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School is a happy, caring and inclusive school that is performing securely overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school's work on attendance and behaviour and on pupils' personal development and well-being is a particular strength. Pupils attend regularly, behave extremely well and benefit from a broad personal development offer that celebrates diversity and is made available to disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Leaders know their community well. The school serves a relatively large primary population in an area of high deprivation, with above-average free school meals eligibility, and it is part of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy Trust. Pupils' achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion and leadership and governance are all judged to meet the expected standard. Pupils generally achieve in line with national outcomes, including in reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are typically supported well. The main areas for improvement are the consistency of curriculum and teaching choices and early writing. In some cases, decisions about what to teach, when and how are not fully effective in ensuring all pupils learn the intended knowledge, and some pupils do not develop writing fluency, including pencil grip and handwriting, quickly enough. Early years practice also occasionally misses chances to correct children's mistakes, and support for pupils with SEND needs further refinement and embedding. Leaders should strengthen oversight to secure greater consistency.

Strengths

• Attendance is high and continues to improve, including for pupils who were previously persistently absent.
• Behaviour expectations are well embedded and pupils behave extremely well, managing their emotions and taking responsibility for their actions.
• Personal development is very well designed, with diversity, difference and fundamental British values woven through the curriculum.
• The wider offer, including clubs, trips and workshops, is accessible to all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils feel safe and know there is always a trusted adult to speak to; bullying is rare and dealt with quickly.
• Reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised, and pupils achieve broadly in line with national outcomes by the time they leave.
• Phonics teaching is effective, with books matched to pupils' developing fluency and swift support for those who struggle.
• Oracy is a priority, and teachers model sentence structure and give pupils opportunities to rehearse and express their ideas clearly.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are typically well supported, with adapted resources and personalised approaches where needed.
• Staff well-being and workload are well considered, and staff value a focused and supportive professional learning programme.
• Governance and trust arrangements provide regular review and constructive support for improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• In some lessons, choices about what to teach, when and how are not consistently effective in ensuring all pupils learn the intended curriculum.
• Some pupils do not develop writing fluency, including an effective pencil grip and handwriting, quickly enough to support progress across subjects.
• In early years, children's mistakes are occasionally not corrected, including weaknesses in pencil grip as early writing develops.
• Support for some pupils with SEND needs further refinement and embedding.
• Leaders should strengthen oversight to secure greater consistency across the school's work.

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 Joachim's Catholic Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.9% 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, 0.3% of pupils at St Joachim's Catholic Primary School 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 Joachim's Catholic Primary School had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.6% 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, 18.8% of pupils at St Joachim's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Joachim's Catholic Primary School received £9,743 and spent £9,569 for each of its 350 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £132,000 (£378 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy Trust, income was £9,293 and spending £9,244 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.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Newham · Newham local authority: places and applications

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School is part of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• St Helen's Catholic Primary School London
• St Edward's Catholic Primary School London
• St Michael's Catholic Primary School London
• St Antony's Catholic Primary School London
• St Francis' Catholic Primary School London
• St Winefride's RC Primary School London
• Our Lady and St George's Catholic Primary School London

What is St Joachim's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joachim's Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was St Joachim's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does St Joachim's Catholic Primary School have?

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School has 345 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joachim's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Joachim's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joachim's Catholic Primary School?

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School is at Shipman Road, Custom House, London, E16 3DT.