St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Barking and Dagenham is a state primary that is significantly undersubscribed in terms of its physical capacity — it has 237 pupils against a school capacity of 420 — but the demand for places tells a different story. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 139 applications for just 30 places, making it heavily oversubscribed with a ratio of 4.63 applicants per place. Of those, 38 families put it as their first preference, and 27 received first-preference offers. The school serves a community with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils: 32.9% of children are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average of around 23% and a clear signal of the local demographic. As a Roman Catholic school with nursery provision for children aged three and above, it draws families from across the borough who are seeking a faith-based education. The headteacher is Rowena Lumber.
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
21 Mar 2024Latest monitoring visit (21 Mar 2024): School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next
Source: Ofsted, 4 Oct 2016. 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
Breakfast club
07:30-08:45
Source: st-josephs-catholic-primary.secure-primarysite.net. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
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