St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School is performing well across all inspected areas. Pupils enjoy school, feel safe and behave with tolerance and respect. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, reading is central, and staff support pupils with SEND effectively. Most pupils achieve well and produce high-quality work. The school has strong personal development and pastoral provision, including leadership roles, charity work and clubs. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders are mindful of staff workload, and governance systems are robust. This was the school's first section 5 inspection since it opened in 2022 as part of the Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust. The main areas for improvement are that some learning activities do not take enough account of pupils' prior knowledge, so some pupils do not deepen their learning as well as they could. In addition, the school does not always act promptly or consistently enough when areas for development are identified, which means some improvements are not embedded securely.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, behave well and treat one another with tolerance and respect
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced
• Reading is at the heart of the curriculum and pupils read widely and often
• Staff have strong subject expertise and explain new learning clearly
• Pupils with SEND are well supported to learn alongside their peers
• Pupils behave well and are keen to learn
• Personal, social and health education supports pupils' wider development well
• Pupils develop confidence and character through leadership roles, clubs and community activities
• Leaders are mindful of staff workload and provide effective training and support
• Governance systems for checking the quality of provision are robust
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some learning activities do not take account of what pupils already know and can do
• Some pupils do not deepen their learning as well as they could
• The school does not always take prompt enough action when areas for development are identified
• Some improvements are not made as securely and consistently as they could be

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 and St Teresa Catholic Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 0.6% of pupils at St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School 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 and St Teresa Catholic Primary School had 25.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.6% 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, 6.9% of pupils at St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 and St Teresa Catholic Primary School received £7,184 and spent £7,278 for each of its 156 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £74,000 (£472 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust, income was £6,402 and spending £6,277 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 Wells · Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School is part of The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Radstock
• St Louis Catholic Primary School, Frome Frome
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary Wincanton
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Nursery School Burnham-On-Sea
• St John's Catholic Primary School Bath
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Bath
• Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bridgwater Bridgwater
• St Gildas Catholic Primary School Yeovil
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Chippenham

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School have?

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School has 160 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School cover?

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School?

St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School is at Lovers Walk, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2QL.