St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy
Chesterfield Road, Matlock, DE4 3FT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Ellis
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Derbyshire Dales
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 156
- URN
- 142827
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01629583616
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Matlock. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 156 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 15 | 21 | 19 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 57% | 37% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 53% | 71% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 71% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 67% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.10 | - | - |
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 Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 58.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 37% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 126 |
| 2023/24 | 140 |
| 2024/25 | 156 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 218th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37% | 6.1% | 57% | 156 | — |
| Castle View Primary School | 33% | 4.4% | 60.2% | 130 | 0.1 miles |
| All Saints CofE Infant School | — | 3.4% | 7.9% | 142 | 0.6 miles |
| All Saints CofE Junior School | 86% | 2.7% | 14.6% | 218 | 0.9 miles |
| St Giles Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 73% | 4.1% | 32% | 89 | 0.9 miles |
| Tansley Primary School | 23% | 4.4% | 26% | 58 | 1.2 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
-
Ungraded inspection report4 March 2025
- 17 September 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 57.04%
- English as an additional language
- 3.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.12%
- Persistent absence
- 19.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castle View Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Matlock
-
All Saints CofE Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Matlock
-
All Saints CofE Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Matlock
-
St Giles Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.9 miles
Primary · Matlock
-
Tansley Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Matlock
Other schools in Matlock
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranks 13th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Matlock.
- All Saints CofE Infant School Primary
- All Saints CofE Junior School Primary
- Bonsall CofE (A) Primary School Primary
- Brassington Primary School Primary
- Carsington and Hopton Primary School Primary
- Castle View Primary School Primary
- Crich Carr CofE Primary School Primary
- Crich Church of England Infant School Primary
- Crich Junior School Primary
- Cromford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Darley Churchtown Church of England Primary School Primary
- Darley Dale Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Matlock.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Gemma Ellis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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 Voluntary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy has 156 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 240 pupils and 156 on roll (65%), 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 Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI 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 Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 37% 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 Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 218th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% 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 Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy'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 2 July 2026.