St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland
Rutland Street, Sunderland, SR4 6HY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP CHADWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Nicholas Conway
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 310
- Pupils on roll
- 247
- URN
- 148912
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915108484
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 247 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 January 2025, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 | 29 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 90% | 76% | 90% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 17% | 28% |
| Expected standard in reading | 97% | 86% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 97% | 90% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 93% | 86% | 100% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 111.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 109.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.70 | - | - |
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, Sunderland has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sunderland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 90% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 90% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 247 |
| 2023/24 | 244 |
| 2024/25 | 259 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland ranked 3rd of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 90% | 3.8% | 16.4% | 247 | — |
| Diamond Hall Junior Academy | 68% | 5% | 42.7% | 320 | 0.1 miles |
| Diamond Hall Infant Academy | — | 4.6% | 33% | 314 | 0.1 miles |
| Barnes Infant Academy | — | 6% | 14.5% | 311 | 0.7 miles |
| Barnes Junior School | 38% | 5.8% | 29.6% | 341 | 0.7 miles |
| Highfield Academy | 82% | 7% | 52.6% | 443 | 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)
- 16.35%
- English as an additional language
- 47.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.75%
- Persistent absence
- 4.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Diamond Hall Junior Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Diamond Hall Infant Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Barnes Infant Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Barnes Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Highfield Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland ranks 3rd of the 43 ranked primary schools in Sunderland.
- Barnes Infant Academy Primary
- Barnes Junior School Primary
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy Primary
- Bexhill Academy Primary
- Broadway Junior School Primary
- Castletown Primary School Primary
- Cleadon Church of England Academy Primary
- Dame Dorothy Primary School Primary
- Diamond Hall Infant Academy Primary
- Diamond Hall Junior Academy Primary
- East Herrington Primary Academy Primary
- English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland is Mr Nicholas Conway, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland, 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 School, Sunderland?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland has 247 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland has capacity for 310 pupils and 247 on roll (80%), 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, Sunderland a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland as having nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland is part of BISHOP CHADWICK 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 School, Sunderland's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 90% in 2022/23 and 90% 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, Sunderland rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland ranked 3rd of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% 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, Sunderland's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland'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.