St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Chapel Street, Devonport, Plymouth, PL1 4DJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Roisin Wright
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 201
- URN
- 140764
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752563185
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 201 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
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- 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 | 29 | 28 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 54% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 4% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 68% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 64% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 75% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.30 | - | - |
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 | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 62% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 191 |
| 2023/24 | 206 |
| 2024/25 | 198 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranked 53rd of 65 primary schools in Plymouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 6% | 24.8% | 201 | — |
| Marlborough Primary Academy | 56% | 6.8% | 50% | 103 | 0.3 miles |
| Mount Wise Community Primary School | 49% | 9.2% | 52.3% | 248 | 0.3 miles |
| Stoke Damerel Primary Academy | 65% | 4.6% | 24.6% | 387 | 0.5 miles |
| High Street Primary Academy | 63% | 6.8% | 56.8% | 214 | 0.6 miles |
| Morice Town Primary Academy | 57% | 7.4% | 42.4% | 177 | 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
-
Graded inspection report9 June 2026
- 4 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.75%
- English as an additional language
- 20.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.04%
- Persistent absence
- 19.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Marlborough Primary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Mount Wise Community Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Stoke Damerel Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
High Street Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Morice Town Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranks 59th of the 71 ranked primary schools in Plymouth.
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
- Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boringdon Primary School Primary
- Chaddlewood Primary School Primary
- College Road Primary School Primary
- Compton CofE Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary Academy Primary
- Eggbuckland Vale Primary School Primary
- Elburton Primary School Primary
- Ernesettle Community School Primary
- Ford 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 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Roisin Wright, 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 201 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 236 pupils and 201 on roll (85%), 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 a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- 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.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is part of PLYMOUTH CAST. 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's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 53% 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 53rd of 65 primary schools in Plymouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% 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 6% 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 13 August 2026.