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St Joseph and St Bede RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Primary · Bury · BL9 6ER

Data updated

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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 14 July 2026 · report published 23 September 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

342 pupils · 100% of 343 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
27.9% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
18.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
https://www.sjsb.stoccat.org.uk/
URN
150176

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 52 families named it first for 45 Reception places, 1.16 first choices per place. We hold 7 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2020 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 14 July 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 4.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.16 first-choice applications per place

45 places offered · 52 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
64%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
105
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 school64%
Median of its 12 closest peers64.5%
Bury average64.1%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with 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
Bishop Chavasse Primary SchoolTonbridge · 199 miles awayGood65%
St Edward's Church of England Primary SchoolRochdale · 4 miles awayRequires improvement54%
Cheadle Heath Primary SchoolStockport · 15 miles awayExpected standard62%
Pennycross Primary SchoolPlymouth · 235 miles awayExpected standard82%
Elm Wood SchoolLondon · 176 miles awayGood64%
Elstow SchoolBedford · 128 miles awayNo current grade74%
Selby Abbey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolSelby · 51 miles awayGood58%
Sprites Primary AcademyIpswich · 178 miles awayGood71%
St Thomas' CofE Primary School, LeighLeigh · 12 miles awayGood48%
St Anthony's Catholic Primary AcademyWolverhampton · 68 miles awayGood80%
Charles Darwin Community Primary SchoolNorthwich · 26 miles awayExpected standard75%
Nyewood CofE Junior SchoolBognor Regis · 206 miles awayGood63%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 66% (Bury 64%, England 60%) · Black African 8% (Bury 4%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 7% (Bury 1%, England 4%) · Asian Pakistani 5% (Bury 13%, England 5%) · Any other White background 4% (Bury 3%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Bury 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Bury 2%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Bury 4%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Bury 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 1% (Bury 0%, England 1%) · White Traveller of Irish heritage 1% (Bury 0%, England 0%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Bury 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)
4.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
10.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

2.05 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Bury: 1.99 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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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
23.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

93% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school

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)

37.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 1.3 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 £52,411; 26.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,366
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 6% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £202,000; in-year balance +£198,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher21.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications27.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work21.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways29.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier51.7%62.3%
Social housing28.6%17.1%
Privately rented18.9%20.5%
Detached houses5.2%22.9%
Flats22.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van34.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01004956 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£160,000247 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£130,000–£200,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (13)£295,000
Semi-detached (45)£210,000
Terraced (179)£150,000
Flat (10)£115,000

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
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
1an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
8an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an 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