St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a small state primary in Dorset, serving 116 pupils aged 4 to 11 under headteacher Francis McDonnell. It sits within a local authority that contains 119 primary schools, of which only three currently hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school’s own ranking in Dorset places it 68th out of 68 primaries, putting it at the very bottom of the LA table when measured by the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. For context, the top-performing local peers include Spetisbury CofE Primary School, St Ives Primary & Nursery School, and Sticklands Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, all of which score significantly higher on the same metric. The school is Roman Catholic in character and operates as a mixed, non-selective state school with no nursery or sixth form provision.

Academically, the school’s most recent Key Stage 2 results from 2023/24 show that just 29% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Dorset LA average of 56%. No pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects. In individual subjects, 76% of pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, 43% in maths and 43% in writing. Average scaled scores were 103 in reading and 100 in maths. The school’s Ofsted inspection in February 2024 rated overall effectiveness as Requires Improvement, the same grade it received in its previous inspection in January 2020. However, two of the five sub-categories — behaviour and attitudes, and personal development — were rated Good, representing an improvement from the previous inspection where both were judged as Requires Improvement. Leadership and management, quality of education, and early years provision all remain Requires Improvement.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 16 applications for 7 places and a first-preference offer rate of 7, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.29. Facilities include a library, dining hall, sensory room, playing fields, gymnasium and chapel, and the school offers a range of sports including tennis, football, athletics, netball, dance, cricket and rounders. Clubs cover coding, chess, art and drama. The school has identified SEND provisions for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and other difficulties or disabilities. This is a small, faith-based school that may suit families who prioritise a supportive personal development environment and are comfortable with a school that is actively working on improving academic outcomes, as reflected in its recent Ofsted inspection.

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