St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School has made significant improvements since its previous inadequate inspection, now achieving a good overall effectiveness rating. The school provides a high-quality education and fosters a positive atmosphere where kindness and tolerance are emphasized. The leadership, including an interim headteacher and support from the Assisi Catholic Trust, has been proactive in addressing past weaknesses and enhancing the curriculum, which benefits the students significantly. There is a strong culture of support, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who receive tailored assistance to thrive in their learning environments.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a high-quality education with engaging and exciting lessons.
• Positive behaviour and attitudes are promoted, resulting in a calm learning environment.
• Strong support systems for pupils with SEND ensure they achieve well relative to their starting points.
• Phonics instruction is effective, helping children to become confident readers.
• Leaders have rapidly improved the curriculum and prioritised pupil well-being and safety.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in teacher assessments across some foundation subjects.
• Some teachers do not adapt their teaching based on pupils' prior knowledge.

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 and Nursery attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.8% 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, 1.6% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery 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 and Nursery had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 34.3% 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, 13.5% of pupils at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 and Nursery received £7,314 and spent £7,415 for each of its 183 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £71,000 (£387 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Assisi Catholic Trust, income was £7,052 and spending £7,168 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 Canvey Island · Essex local authority: places and applications

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery is part of Assisi Catholic Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Holy Family Catholic Primary School Benfleet
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Leigh-On-Sea
• St Thomas More High School Westcliff-On-Sea
• Our Lady of Ransom Catholic Primary School Rayleigh
• St Helen's Catholic Primary School Westcliff-On-Sea
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Southend-On-Sea
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Rochford
• St George's Catholic Primary School Southend-On-Sea

What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery have?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery has 200 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery cover?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery is at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Vaagen Road, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 9DP.