St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead
Woodchurch Road, Oxton, Prenton, CH43 5UT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Alex Turner
- Diocese
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Birkenhead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 237
- URN
- 146088
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01516526781
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Prenton. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 237 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead, 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
- 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 | 56 | 32 | 50 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 41% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 84% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 52% | 50% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 66% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 101.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
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, Birkenhead has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wirral average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 52% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 50.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 53.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 306 |
| 2023/24 | 278 |
| 2024/25 | 265 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead ranked 19th of 75 primary schools in Wirral for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 5.7% | 17% | 237 | — |
| Devonshire Park Primary School | 47% | 7.4% | 40.1% | 413 | 0.3 miles |
| Woodchurch Road Academy | 67% | 8.3% | 58.3% | 171 | 0.3 miles |
| Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School | — | — | — | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School | 56% | 7% | 59.6% | 203 | 0.6 miles |
| Mersey Park Primary School | 83% | 6.3% | 65% | 452 | 0.7 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)
- 16.98%
- English as an additional language
- 19.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.72%
- Persistent absence
- 14.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Devonshire Park Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Woodchurch Road Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Prenton
-
Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Mersey Park Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Wirral
Other schools in Prenton
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead ranks 1st of the 7 ranked primary schools in Prenton.
- Bidston Village CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Co-op Academy Hillside Primary
- Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School Primary
- Prenton Primary School Primary
- St Paul's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Peter's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ridgeway High School Secondary
- St Anselm's College Secondary
- Birkenhead High School Academy All-through
- The Observatory School Special schools
- Birkenhead School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Prenton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead is Mr Alex Turner, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead, 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead has 237 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead has capacity for 420 pupils and 237 on roll (56%), 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, Birkenhead a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead as having nursery classes.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead is part of HOLY FAMILY 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 Primary School, Birkenhead's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 68% 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, Birkenhead compare with other schools in Wirral?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead ranked 19th of 75 primary schools in Wirral for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% 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, Birkenhead's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead'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 10 July 2026.