St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley
Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mary Urwin
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- North Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 148412
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01207232624
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Stanley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 203 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 February 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
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 | 31 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 65% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 71% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 74% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 77% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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, Stanley has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 225 |
| 2023/24 | 226 |
| 2024/25 | 224 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley ranked 56th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 4% | 20.7% | 203 | — |
| East Stanley School | 54% | 4.6% | 47.2% | 174 | 0.5 miles |
| South Stanley Infant and Nursery School | — | 4.1% | 63.9% | 113 | 0.6 miles |
| South Stanley Junior School | 74% | 6% | 60.1% | 146 | 0.6 miles |
| Shield Row Primary School | 65% | 6.2% | 37.1% | 196 | 0.6 miles |
| Stanley Burnside Primary School | 62% | 7.7% | 68.8% | 174 | 0.8 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)
- 20.69%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.97%
- Persistent absence
- 9.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
East Stanley School0.5 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
South Stanley Infant and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
South Stanley Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
Shield Row Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
Stanley Burnside Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Stanley
Other schools in Stanley
St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley ranks 4th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Stanley.
- Annfield Plain Infant School Primary
- Annfield Plain Junior School Primary
- Beamish Primary School Primary
- Bloemfontein Primary School Primary
- Catchgate Primary School Primary
- Collierley Nursery and Primary School Primary
- East Stanley School Primary
- Greenland Community Primary School Primary
- Shield Row Primary School Primary
- South Stanley Infant and Nursery School Primary
- South Stanley Junior School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Stanley.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley is Mary Urwin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley, 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, Stanley?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley has capacity for 236 pupils and 203 on roll (86%), 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, Stanley a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley as having nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley is part of BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION 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, Stanley'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 72% 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, Stanley rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley ranked 56th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% 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, Stanley's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley'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.