SchoolFacts.uk

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Preston

Primary · Preston · PR1 5XL

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Strong standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 27 January 2026 · report published 18 March 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

347 pupils · 110% of 315 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
30.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
45.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
7.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.sjps.lancs.sch.uk
URN
149314

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 33 families named it first for 35 Reception places, 0.94 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 27 January 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

35 places offered · 33 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

45 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
78%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
11%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
107
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school78%
Median of its 12 closest peers70.5%
Lancashire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
St Edward's Catholic Primary SchoolLondon · 192 miles awayGood80%
Lings Primary SchoolNorthampton · 129 miles awayGood51%
Al-Noor Voluntary Aided Muslim Primary SchoolIlford · 192 miles awayGood79%
The Bewbush AcademyCrawley · 211 miles awayGood64%
The Leys Primary SchoolDagenham · 195 miles awayGood70%
Harris Primary Academy Philip LaneLondon · 185 miles awayOutstanding83%
Rainbow Primary Leadership AcademyBradford · 38 miles awayGood66%
Marvels Lane Primary SchoolLondon · 197 miles awayGood (2016)70%
St Leonard's Church of England Primary SchoolLondon · 194 miles awayExpected standard45%
Colville Primary SchoolLondon · 187 miles awayOutstanding87%
Queensmead Primary AcademyLeicester · 100 miles awayGood87%
Kentmere Primary AcademyRochdale · 24 miles awayOutstanding71%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 34% (Lancashire 74%, England 60%) · Any other White background 17% (Lancashire 3%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 11% (Lancashire 3%, England 4%) · Asian Pakistani 11% (Lancashire 8%, England 5%) · Black African 8% (Lancashire 2%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Lancashire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Lancashire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 2% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 0%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
5.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

5.76 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Lancashire: 2.62 suspensions and 0.07 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

20% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,415; 11.8% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,127
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 13% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 3% (8%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 0% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £427,000; in-year balance +£209,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher19.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications33%18.1%
In managerial or professional work12.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways28.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health50.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier38.8%62.3%
Social housing23.8%17.1%
Privately rented37.3%20.5%
Detached houses5.1%22.9%
Flats11.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7%21.1%
Households with no car or van44%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025297 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£110,000327 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£88,000–£135,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Semi-detached (47)£144,000
Terraced (242)£110,000
Flat (35)£57,000

Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
16an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
18an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
101an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
34an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools