Our Lady and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About Our Lady and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Our Lady and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Rotherham has been rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. The school's early years provision was singled out as Outstanding, while leadership and management were also judged Good. On the key academic metric of KS2 reading, writing and maths combined at the expected standard, 68% of pupils achieved this benchmark in 2023/24. That places the school comfortably above the Rotherham local authority average of 60%, and ranks it 29th out of 84 primary schools in the area — putting it in the top half of local primaries. Nationally, it sits in the 36th percentile, a solid mid-table performance for a school of its size.

Digging into the detail, the school's strongest individual subject at KS2 was maths, where 81% of pupils reached the expected standard and the average scaled score was 106. Reading saw 68% at expected with an average score of 104, while writing also hit 81% at expected. At the higher standard, maths again led with 32% of pupils achieving greater depth, compared with 26% in reading and just 10% in writing. The combined higher standard across all three subjects was 6%, which is modest but reflects the school's focus on securing solid foundations rather than pushing for top-end results. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the raw outcomes are clearly above the local norm.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry there were 46 applications for 28 places, with 27 first-preference offers made. That ratio of 1.64 applicants per place suggests strong local demand. Facilities include a chapel, forest school, ICT suite, art studios, music rooms and a gymnasium, plus playing fields. Sports on offer range from swimming and athletics to cricket and cross country, and clubs include science, art, drama and gardening. The school has a nursery provision and caters for a range of SEND needs, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional challenges, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 20.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, it serves a fairly typical mix of backgrounds for the area. This is a school that suits families who want a faith-based primary with solid academic outcomes, a broad enrichment offer, and a clear track record of improvement under current leadership.

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