Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School is a small Catholic primary within the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection, with the predecessor school previously judged as requiring improvement. Inspectors found the school performing well across all key areas, with effective safeguarding, and highlighted a strong sense of community, a clear Catholic ethos, calm routines and high expectations for learning and behaviour. Pupils are polite, respectful and kind to one another, and relationships with adults support their well-being.

Strengths

• Strong Catholic ethos and sense of community
• Calm, settled routines and a welcoming learning environment
• High expectations for learning and behaviour
• Pupils are polite, respectful and kind to each other
• Ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge logically across subjects
• Curriculum planning takes account of mixed-age classes
• Tailored support enables pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum
• Strong reading provision with consistent daily phonics teaching
• Reading books are precisely matched to pupils' ability
• Early years provision prepares children well for Year 1
• Attendance has improved, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Leaders, governors and trust leaders have built capacity to improve
• Staff feel well supported with workload and value trust professional development

Areas for Improvement

• Some older pupils have gaps in mathematical knowledge and have not achieved as well as they could by the end of key stage 2
• Handwriting teaching is not detailed or structured enough, leading to inconsistent and less fluent writing among older pupils

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 Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate 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 Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate had 12.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 30.0% of pupils at Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.7% 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 Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate received £10,125 and spent £10,631 for each of its 66 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £86,000 (£1,296 per pupil).

Across all 46 schools of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,708 and spending £7,760 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 Consett · County Durham local authority: places and applications

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate is part of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Consett Consett
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton Stanley
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Blackhill Consett
• St Pius Xth Catholic Primary School, Consett Consett
• St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester Durham
• All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Durham
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor Stanley
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley Stanley
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Byermoor Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village Durham

What is Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate have?

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate has 60 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate cover?

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate?

Our Lady and St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School, Leadgate is at St Ives Road, Leadgate, Consett, County Durham, DH8 7SN.