St Josephs Catholic Academy

About St Josephs Catholic Academy

St Josephs Catholic Academy is a state-funded primary school in Leicester, serving 226 pupils aged 3 to 11. It sits within a local authority where five of the 82 primary schools are rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and the nearest one, Humberstone Junior School, is just over a kilometre away. Among Leicester primary schools, St Josephs ranks 56th out of 68 on the key stage 2 expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half of the LA. For context, the top-performing local peers include Whitehall Primary School, St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy, and Queensmead Primary Academy, all of which score significantly higher on the same metric. The school is Roman Catholic in character and led by headteacher Clair Dedman. It has a nursery provision for younger children and operates as a mixed-gender school. With 24.4 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average economic disadvantage compared to many Leicester primaries.

Academically, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good overall, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. All five graded areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — were judged Good. At key stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 47 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Leicester LA average of 62 per cent. Individual subject results show 66 per cent reached the expected standard in reading and 68 per cent in writing, while maths was also at 66 per cent. Higher-attaining pupils are a small group: just 3 per cent achieved the higher standard across all three subjects, with 16 per cent reaching that level in reading and 11 per cent in maths. The school’s average scaled scores were 102 in reading and 101 in maths, both close to the national baseline of 100.

The school is oversubscribed for Reception entry in 2025/26, with 44 applications for 30 places and 29 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.47. Facilities include a chapel, library, music rooms, gymnasium, sensory room, sports hall and playing fields. Sports offered include football, netball, cricket, swimming, rounders and dance, while clubs range from coding and chess to choir, eco club and film club. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, and social, emotional and mental health support. This is a small, faith-based primary that has improved its Ofsted rating and offers a wide range of enrichment, though its academic outcomes sit below the local average. It may suit families prioritising a Catholic environment and a strong pastoral and SEND framework over top-tier exam results.

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