St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Folly Lane, Wool, Wareham, BH20 6DS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Headteacher
- Mr Francis McDonnell
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- South Dorset
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 81
- URN
- 140770
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01929462565
About this school
St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Wareham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 81 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 20 | 21 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 29% | 46% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 76% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 43% | 58% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 48% | 58% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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 Mary & 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 | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 29% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 46% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 153 |
| 2023/24 | 137 |
| 2024/25 | 116 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranked 70th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46% | 4.9% | 10.3% | 81 | — |
| Wool Church of England Primary School | 46% | 3.6% | 23.9% | 116 | 0.3 miles |
| Bovington Academy | 71% | 5.3% | 19% | 180 | 1.5 miles |
| Lulworth and Winfrith CofE Primary School | 38% | 5.3% | 15% | 95 | 3.8 miles |
| Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School | 50% | 6.6% | 32.6% | 165 | 4.7 miles |
| Frome Valley CofE First School | — | 4.7% | 23.3% | 141 | 4.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.34%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.89%
- Persistent absence
- 9.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wool Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Bovington Academy1.5 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Lulworth and Winfrith CofE Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School4.7 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Frome Valley CofE First School4.9 miles
Primary · Dorchester
Other schools in Wareham
St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranks 6th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Wareham.
- Bere Regis Primary and Preschool Primary
- Bovington Academy Primary
- Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lulworth and Winfrith CofE Primary School Primary
- Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Stoborough Church of England Primary School Primary
- Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School Primary
- Wool Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Purbeck School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Wareham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is Mr Francis McDonnell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary & 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 many pupils are at St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has 81 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 81 on roll (39%), 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 Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary & 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 Mary & 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 46% 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 Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Dorset?
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School ranked 70th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% 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 Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary & 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 1 July 2026.