St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy, sits within Trafford, a local authority with a strong reputation for primary education. Among the 63 primary schools in the borough, it ranks 15th, placing it comfortably in the top quarter. Its closest high-performing peers include St Vincent's Catholic Primary School, Park Road Academy Primary School, and Brooklands Primary School, all of which score slightly higher on the same ranking metric. The school is also just 0.2 kilometres from Springfield Primary School, another Outstanding-rated option in the area. With a capacity of 420 and 432 pupils on roll, St Joseph's is slightly oversubscribed, reflecting its popularity among local families. The school's Catholic character is woven into its identity, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in May 2025, inspectors awarded the highest possible grade of Outstanding across every category assessed, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This marks a continuation of the Outstanding rating it held in its previous inspection back in 2009.

Academically, St Joseph's performs well above both local and national benchmarks. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 79% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to a Trafford local authority average of 71%. The school's ranking score of 79 places it in the top 25% nationally. In individual subjects, 93% of pupils met the expected standard in both reading and maths, with average scores of 109 and 108 respectively. The proportion achieving the higher standard in reading was 38%, in maths 41%, and in writing 18%. While progress scores are not available in the data, the strong attainment figures suggest pupils are performing well. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 89% of respondents would recommend the school, and 94% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy at the school. In the Parent View survey, 76% strongly agreed that their child feels safe, and 73% strongly agreed that their child can take part in clubs and activities.

The school offers a range of facilities including a dining hall, gymnasium, sports hall, forest school, art studios, sensory room, and a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, cricket, swimming, rounders, and football, while clubs extend to gardening, drama, science club, and choir. For families with children who have special educational needs, St Joseph's provides support for a variety of needs including specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the Parent View data on SEND support shows some mixed responses: while 59% strongly agreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, 19% strongly disagreed, and 7% disagreed. The school was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry, with 149 applications for 45 places, and 44 of those offers went to first-preference applicants. This is a school that suits families seeking a Catholic primary with strong academic outcomes and a wide range of enrichment, but those with SEND children may want to explore the support on offer in more detail.

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