St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy
Healds Road, Dewsbury, WF13 4HY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Bulloch
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Constituency
- Dewsbury and Batley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 212
- URN
- 148482
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924462053
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Dewsbury. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 212 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 31 | 32 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 69% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 13% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 78% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 84% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 58% | 78% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
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 Primary 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 | Kirklees average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71% | 56.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 58.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 214 |
| 2023/24 | 211 |
| 2024/25 | 205 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy ranked 38th of 101 primary schools in Kirklees 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 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 6.5% | 36.1% | 212 | — |
| Carlton Junior and Infant School | 0% | 5.5% | 20.8% | 223 | 0.3 miles |
| Purlwell Infant and Nursery School | — | — | — | 230 | 0.5 miles |
| Manorfield Infant and Nursery School | — | 7.3% | 20.7% | 224 | 0.5 miles |
| Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School | 49% | 7.2% | 32.7% | 274 | 0.5 miles |
| Hyrstmount Junior School | — | — | — | 257 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.1%
- English as an additional language
- 17.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.51%
- Persistent absence
- 18.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Carlton Junior and Infant School0.3 miles
Primary · Dewsbury
-
Purlwell Infant and Nursery School0.5 miles
Primary · Batley
-
Manorfield Infant and Nursery School0.5 miles
Primary · Batley
-
Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Batley
-
Hyrstmount Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Batley
Other schools in Dewsbury
St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy ranks 4th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Dewsbury.
- Boothroyd Primary Academy Primary
- Bywell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- Carlton Junior and Infant School Primary
- Diamond Wood Community Academy Primary
- Earlsheaton Infant School Primary
- Eastborough Academy Primary
- Headfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- Orchard Primary Academy Primary
- Overthorpe CofE Academy Primary
- Pentland Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Ravensthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- Savile Town Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Dewsbury.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy is Mrs Claire Bulloch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary 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 Primary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy has 212 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy has capacity for 218 pupils and 212 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. 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 Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy is part of BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC 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 Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% 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 Academy rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy ranked 38th of 101 primary schools in Kirklees 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 30% 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 Academy's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary 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 10 July 2026.