St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley

General Information

Address: School Street, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2PN
Phone: 01914102231
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Kate Swaddle
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 105
School capacity: 120
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 27
% eligible for free school meals: 25.7%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

–

Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £6,845 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #2 of 3 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#1Ryton Junior School£7,388
#2St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley£6,845
#3Oakfield Junior School£5,297

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1Ryton Junior School£7,388
#2St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley£6,845
#3Oakfield Junior School£5,297

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)