Headteacher's Welcome

Hello,                                                                                                                     

Welcome to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.        

We are very proud of our wonderful school, where children and Christ are at the heart of all we do.

At St Joseph's, we want the children to be excited about coming to school. We believe that all children deserve an engaging learning experience, supportive pastoral care and a learning environment that inspires them. We take great pride in our school.

We have high expectations of our young learners. Our vision is for each child to shine their own unique light, to be kind and compassionate and stewards of God's creation. Central to school life, is our mission statement, ‘We are all God’s children, and will try to live, love, work and serve as Jesus taught us.’ Our vision is built on the foundation that everyone is capable of learning. This applies to our children and also our staff - everything we do is for the benefit of our children and we are blessed with a dedicated team of staff and governors. Our recent Ofsted inspection, reported that,

'Community is at the heart of this nurturing and caring school. Pupils live out the school’s vision to ‘let your light shine’ through their day-to-day interactions with one another and with adults. Pupils are polite, kind and caring. They have impeccable manners and treat adults with the utmost respect. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils feel happy, safe and valued'. 

We believe that our children deserve a rich and varied curriculum that stimulates them, enabling them to become confident and successful learners, who articulate their views positively and with respect. Using educational research into high-quality teaching and learning, our curriculum intends to provide an education for the whole child. We value speaking, reading and writing as essential skills in education. It is important for children to have a good understanding of the world, art, literature and science. For us, teaching is not just about knowledge but about developing children of great character. Through sports and extra-curricular activities, we promote our key values and our belief in using the gifts that God has given us.

St Joseph's is a high achieving school and the top primary school in BCP for Greater Depth Reading this year. In the last five years, we have featured in The Times as one of the top 21 state primary schools in the country. We are also in the top 5% of schools in the country for the Year 4 multiplication check. Ofsted reported confirmed that we offer,

'a broad and ambitious curriculum. Opportunities to enrich pupils’ learning are carefully considered. The school has high expectations and aspirations for all pupils. Pupils meet these expectations well. There is a purposeful and calm learning atmosphere, which begins in Reception Year. Reading is at the front and centre of the curriculum'. 

St Joseph’s is an inclusive school where we share the principles that everyone has the right to learn, everyone has the right to be respected and everyone has the right to feel safe. 

I am delighted that you are thinking of choosing our school for your child. We warmly welcome visits to our school and I look forward to meeting you.

Elizabeth  Rippon

Mrs Elizabeth Rippon
Headteacher

Please visit our Catholic Life page.

Please also read our Curriculum page.

To find out how to apply for a place please see our Admissions page.

To learn about our Governing Body at St Joseph's please read our Governors page.

To find out more about Safeguarding at St Joseph's please visit our Safeguarding page.