St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Cherry Orchard, Lichfield, WS14 9AN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Deirdre McLeary
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Constituency
- Lichfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 124357
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01543263505
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Lichfield. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 205 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 80% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 17% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 87% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 87% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 83% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 59.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 62% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 212 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranked 42nd of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.8% | 8.7% | 205 | — |
| Five Spires Academy | 78% | 4.2% | 14.7% | 220 | 0.0 miles |
| St Michael's CofE (C) Primary School | 85% | 3.2% | 6.3% | 398 | 0.1 miles |
| St Chad's CofE Primary School | 62% | 4.6% | 24.4% | 195 | 0.4 miles |
| Scotch Orchard Primary School | 61% | 5.7% | 24.9% | 194 | 0.7 miles |
| SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School | 50% | 6.1% | 47.5% | 114 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 8.65%
- English as an additional language
- 18.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.79%
- Persistent absence
- 5.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Five Spires Academy0.0 miles
Primary · Lichfield
-
St Michael's CofE (C) Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Lichfield
-
St Chad's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Lichfield
-
Scotch Orchard Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Lichfield
-
SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Lichfield
Other schools in Lichfield
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranks 5th of the 13 ranked primary schools in Lichfield.
- Anna Seward Primary Primary
- Chadsmead Primary Academy Primary
- Charnwood Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School Primary
- Five Spires Academy Primary
- Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Greysbrooke Primary School Primary
- Greywood Primary Academy Primary
- Scotch Orchard Primary School Primary
- SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Chad's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Michael's CofE (C) Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Lichfield.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Deirdre McLeary, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has 205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 205 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranked 42nd of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.