St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, Birtley
About St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, Birtley
If you are considering St Joseph's Catholic Infant School in Birtley for your child, the numbers suggest it is a popular choice among local families. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 49 applications for just 24 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.04. All 24 first-preference applicants were offered a place, meaning that while the school is oversubscribed, putting it first on your application gives you a strong chance. The school is a small, state-funded Roman Catholic infant school for children aged 5 to 7, with 66 pupils on roll against a capacity of 90. A quarter of its pupils (25.8%) are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average, indicating a diverse intake. The headteacher is Kate Swaddle, and the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024 confirmed that it continues to maintain the Good standards it has held across its previous inspections.
Key Details
The full report on this school
The inspection in plain English, admissions context, and how this school compares to nearby alternatives — all in one full school report.
- Ofsted inspection in plain EnglishStrengths, concerns and what inspectors flagged
- Parent View survey resultsWhat parents told Ofsted — when the school has 10+ responses
- Where Ofsted and parents disagreeGaps to probe + questions to ask at the open day
- Admissions & catchmentAdmission criteria, distance cutoffs (where the LA publishes them)
- Nearby schools comparedBackup options with Ofsted, demand and distance
- Attendance & behaviour dataPersistent absentees, suspensions and exclusions vs national
Ofsted Inspection Breakdown
22 Oct 2024Latest monitoring visit (22 Oct 2024): Standards maintained
Source: Ofsted, 8 Jun 2015. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
Facilities
5Facilities may vary. Contact the school for current availability.
Extracurriculars
11Sports
Clubs & Activities
Activities may vary by term. Contact the school for current offerings.
SEND Support
Source: Department for Education, 2024/25. Support availability based on current student population.
School day
Teaching hours
08:45 – 15:15
Source: stjosephcatholicschoolsbirtley.org. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
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