St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School sits within the Essex local authority, in the Tendring borough, and is one of 444 primary schools of its type across the county. When ranked by the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2, it places 184th in Essex and 12th out of 33 primary schools in Tendring itself. That puts it in the top half of its immediate local area, though some distance behind the top-performing peers in the county: Stambridge Primary School, St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School in Colchester, and Great Totham Primary School all share the highest ranking scores. With a school capacity of 119 and just 112 pupils on roll, St Joseph's is a small, close-knit Roman Catholic primary for mixed-gender children aged 5 to 11, led by headteacher Samantha Golding. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in 2023, confirmed the school remains Good, a rating that matches its previous graded inspection in 2012, though it had been rated Outstanding in 2008.
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
4 May 2023Latest monitoring visit (4 May 2023): School remains Good
Source: Ofsted, 30 May 2012. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
Facilities
8Facilities 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
08:50 – 15:20
Breakfast club
08:00-08:50
Source: st-josephs-dovercourt.essex.sch.uk. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
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