St Joseph's R.C. Primary School, Penarth

St Joseph's R.C. Primary School is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 199 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

14% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 5% have additional learning needs (10% in 2020/21); 6% are learning English as an additional language; and 20% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 17 pupils (Year 2) to 31 (Year 5).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,501 per pupil, against £3,990 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £144k.

Estyn's report on its June 2023 inspection summarises St Joseph's R.C. Primary School like this:

"St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School is an inclusive and caring school that supports success for all pupils, and service to others, exceptionally well. All pupils love belonging to the school. They speak warmly about their friends and teachers and look forward to coming every day. Pupils are kind and respectful towards each other and the relationship between the oldest and youngest pupils is very strong. The positive and nurturing relationships that exist between pupils, and between staff and pupils, contribute well to the inclusive and welcoming nature of the school and community. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and willingness to support one another in their work and play are notable. They are confident and inquisitive learners and enjoy finding out about things that interest them. Nearly all pupils develop good speaking and listening skills and use these well to build on, or challenge, each other’s ideas Across the school, most pupils develop good mathematical and digital skills."

"Pupils build their musical and artistic skills well and enjoy performing to a range of audiences. However, pupils do not make enough progress in their writing during their time in the school. Many teachers plan and deliver a knowledge rich curriculum effectively, through a comprehensive range of engaging learning experiences. Outside learning areas are stimulating and enable pupils to develop knowledge and skills effectively. Teachers offer many opportunities to learn about the history and culture of Wales and the local area. Provision for physical development is strong, as is the teaching of mathematics where learning happens at a suitably brisk pace. Overall, the quality of teaching across the school is variable, particularly in younger year groups where many activities are over-directed by adults and opportunities to develop independence are limited. The headteacher has created a clear vision for the education and well-being of learners, and shared it effectively with all stakeholders."

"The headteacher takes the lead in ensuring that the school provides an inclusive and caring environment for all. There is a strong team ethos across the school, where pupils and staff feel supported and valued. Members of the governing body are supportive and well-informed. Leaders have identified many of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. However, self-evaluation and improvement processes are overly complex and leaders identify too many priorities. This makes it difficult for the school to focus well enough on the most important aspects of its work."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Sharpen self-evaluation and improvement processes to ensure that they focus on the most important areas of school improvement; (2) Improve the consistency of teaching and provision to ensure that it is appropriate to pupils’ stage and age of development and successfully develops pupils’ independence; (3) Improve pupils’ writing skills.

The nearest other state primary schools to St Joseph's R.C. Primary School are Ysgol Pen Y Garth (0.6 miles), Dinas Powys Primary School (0.6 miles), Evenlode C.P. School (0.7 miles) and Victoria Primary School (0.8 miles).

The nearest railway station is Eastbrook Rail Station, about 870 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Joseph's RC Primary Schoo (grounds), 60 metres away.