St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy is performing well in various areas, achieving a 'Good' rating overall. The school provides a nurturing environment with a strong Catholic ethos, fostering both academic achievement and personal development. Notably, the school has prioritized reading, which has led to pupils making considerable progress. The leadership is committed to continuous improvement and ensures high levels of support for all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, there are ongoing curriculum developments, particularly in the early years, which require further implementation to fully realize their potential impact on student learning.

Strengths

• Strong progress in reading with effective support for weaker readers.
• High expectations for pupil behaviour and conduct.
• Nurturing environment that prioritizes pupils' well-being.
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum for mixed-age classes.
• Pupils with SEND are well-supported and highly involved in school life.
• Effective governance and management of staff workload.

Areas for Improvement

• Some areas of the early years curriculum lack specificity in knowledge and vocabulary.
• Inconsistent understanding of pupils' knowledge across some subjects.

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 Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% 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, 9.6% of pupils at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy had 13.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 22.3% of pupils at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.7% 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 Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy received £10,004 and spent £9,207 for each of its 101 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £457,000 (£4,551 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Romero Catholic Academy Trust, income was £8,388 and spending £8,280 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 Todmorden · Calderdale local authority: places and applications

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of Romero Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Bacup
• St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Burnley
• Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Rossendale
• St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Burnley
• Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Nelson
• St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Burnley
• St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Nelson

What is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy has 94 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy?

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Wellington Road, Todmorden, Lancashire, OL14 5HP.