St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, located in Lancaster, has recently undergone its first inspection since becoming an academy. The overall effectiveness of the school is currently rated as requiring improvement, with particular concerns raised about the quality of education and leadership. While the school strives for the best educational outcomes for its pupils and promotes a positive environment where differences are celebrated, challenges remain in the consistency of curriculum delivery and pupil behaviours. Significant gaps in knowledge were noted among pupils, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), due to issues stemming from the previous curriculum framework.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, loved, and accepted in a welcoming school environment.
• The ambitious and well-structured curriculum is in place in most subjects.
• Pupils are enthusiastic about reading and enjoy access to a well-stocked library.
• The school effectively supports pupils' personal development and mental health awareness.
• Pupils learn about diversity and the importance of respect, tolerance, and democracy.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum delivery hinders pupils' deep knowledge acquisition.
• Some staff do not implement new curriculum elements effectively.
• Persistent absenteeism leads to missed learning opportunities for many pupils.
• Behaviour management expectations are not consistently upheld by staff.
• The early years provision lacks effective staff interactions to support children's learning.

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 Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 29.4% 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, 2.7% of pupils at St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster 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 Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.9% 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, 16.0% of pupils at St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster received £9,568 and spent £9,287 for each of its 150 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £61,000 (£408 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, income was £8,234 and spending £8,275 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 Lancaster · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is part of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Carnforth Carnforth
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston Ulverston
• Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, Dalton-In-Furness Dalton-In-Furness
• St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal Kendal
• St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Windermere Windermere
• St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith Penrith
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Workington Workington

What is St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster last inspected by Ofsted?

St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster have?

St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster has 144 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster cover?

St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster?

St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is at Aldrens Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2DU.