St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford
Pontefract Road, Castleford, WF10 4JB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Spencer
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 197
- URN
- 138949
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977555780
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Castleford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 197 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 70% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 17% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 87% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 77% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 83% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.40 | - | - |
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 Castleford has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 52% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 206 |
| 2024/25 | 207 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford ranked 72nd of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 5% | 7.7% | 197 | — |
| Castleford Park Junior Academy | 61% | 5.1% | 28.3% | 412 | 0.2 miles |
| Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery | — | 5.9% | 18.7% | 169 | 0.2 miles |
| Glasshoughton Infant Academy | — | 3.9% | 8.4% | 222 | 0.3 miles |
| Smawthorne Henry Moore Academy | — | — | — | 473 | 0.5 miles |
| Half Acres Primary Academy | 65% | 6.3% | 23.3% | 424 | 0.6 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)
- 7.73%
- English as an additional language
- 16.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.99%
- Persistent absence
- 9.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castleford Park Junior Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Castleford
-
Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Castleford
-
Glasshoughton Infant Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Castleford
-
Smawthorne Henry Moore Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Castleford
-
Half Acres Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Castleford
Other schools in Castleford
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford ranks 7th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Castleford.
- Ackton Pastures Primary Academy Primary
- Airedale Infant Academy Primary
- Airedale Junior Academy Primary
- Allerton Bywater Primary School Primary
- Castleford Park Junior Academy Primary
- Castleford Three Lane Ends Academy Primary
- Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Fairburn View Primary School, Castleford Primary
- Glasshoughton Infant Academy Primary
- Half Acres Primary Academy Primary
- Lady Elizabeth Hastings CofE Primary School Primary
- Oyster Park Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Castleford.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford is Mrs Sarah Spencer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford, 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 Castleford?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford has 197 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford has capacity for 210 pupils and 197 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. 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 Castleford a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford as having nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford is part of THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 52% 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 Castleford rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford ranked 72nd of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% 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 Castleford's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford'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 1 July 2026.