St. Joseph's CofE Junior School

St. Joseph’s CofE Junior School has shown commendable improvement since its last inspection, achieving a 'Good' rating across various performance domains. The school is recognized for its inclusive and nurturing environment that upholds a strong Christian ethos, enabling pupils to feel valued and engaged in their learning. The introduction of a clear approach to behavior management has led to positive changes in pupil conduct, alongside efforts to enhance reading engagement and curriculum design. The leadership team, appointed in 2019, has played a crucial role in this transformation by establishing high expectations for both behavior and academic achievement among students. While the school excels in many areas, there are notable concerns regarding the clarity and precision of curriculum design in certain subjects. This has created inconsistencies in understanding what pupils should learn and has hindered teachers' effectiveness in lesson planning. Leaders are aware of these weaknesses and are actively working with the trust to improve subject-specific knowledge and curriculum implementation, particularly in light of the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Overall, the school is committed to continuous improvement and ensuring that all pupils achieve their potential.

Strengths

• Inclusive and nurturing environment
• Strong Christian ethos
• High expectations for pupil behavior
• Wide range of personal development opportunities
• Effective leadership since new headteacher's appointment
• Positive attitudes towards learning among pupils
• High priority on reading engagement and improvement

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of clarity in curriculum design in some subjects
• Difficulty in monitoring effective curriculum implementation
• Need to better support early-stage readers transitioning to new phonics curriculum

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 CofE Junior School attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 30.1% 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, 6.5% of pupils at St. Joseph's CofE Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 CofE Junior School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 65.9% 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, 15.8% of pupils at St. Joseph's CofE Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 CofE Junior School received £7,790 and spent £7,354 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £91,000 (-£494 per pupil).

Across all 28 schools of Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, income was £7,049 and spending £7,093 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 Chichester · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

St. Joseph's CofE Junior School is part of Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• St. Joseph's Infant School Chichester
• The March CofE Primary School Chichester
• Heene CofE Primary School Worthing
• St Columba CE Primary School Fareham
• St Nicolas & St Mary CofE Primary School Shoreham-By-Sea
• St Blasius Shanklin CofE Primary Academy Shanklin
• Lanesend Primary School Cowes
• St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy Ventnor
• St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Crawley
• Newick Church of England Primary School Lewes

What is St. Joseph's CofE Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St. Joseph's CofE Junior School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was St. Joseph's CofE Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

St. Joseph's CofE Junior School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does St. Joseph's CofE Junior School have?

St. Joseph's CofE Junior School has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does St. Joseph's CofE Junior School cover?

St. Joseph's CofE Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are St. Joseph's CofE Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St. Joseph's CofE Junior School?

St. Joseph's CofE Junior School is at Orchard Street, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DQ.