St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley

Gateshead · DH3 2PN

General information Junior School · 7-11 years Who goes here 105 pupils, 25.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 17.1% on SEN support Behaviour 3.6% absence rate Staff 38.4% turnover Financials £6,845 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley

General Information

Address: School Street, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2PN – View on map
Phone: 01914102231
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Kate Swaddle
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

105 pupils out of 120 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 27
% eligible for free school meals: 25.7%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Gateshead average)
English as an additional language: 25% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 38.4% a year (Gateshead 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 51% moved to another school, 49% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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.

Across Gateshead: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Gateshead, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

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.

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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

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.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 76% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 18% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 12 percentage points above the Gateshead average (64%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 68% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 68%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 94% · Writing 82% · Maths 94% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 94%
Average test scores: reading 109, maths 108
Based on: 17 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolGateshead averageEngland↗ Improving Up 23 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 12 percentage points above the Gateshead average (64%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 17th of 62 junior and primary schools in the area

#16Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead79%
=17South Street Community Primary School76%
=17St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley76%
#19Emmaville Primary School75%
=20Caedmon Community Primary School74%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Clover Hill Community Primary School93%
=2Fellside Community Primary School90%
=2St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon90%
=2St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whickham90%
#5St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Harlow Green85%
=6Blaydon West Primary School83%
=6Greenside Primary School83%
=8Front Street Community Primary School82%
=8St Agnes' Catholic Primary School, Crawcrook82%
#10St Aidan's Church of England Primary School81%
=11Brighton Avenue Primary School80%
=11Ryton Junior School80%
=11St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, Highfield80%
=11St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Low Fell80%
=11Whickham Parochial Church of England Primary School80%
#16Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead79%
=17South Street Community Primary School76%
=17St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley76%
#19Emmaville Primary School75%
=20Caedmon Community Primary School74%
=20Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Byermoor74%
#22Bill Quay Primary School72%
=23High Spen Primary School71%
=23Kibblesworth Academy71%
=23Portobello Primary School71%
=26Brandling Primary School70%
=26Crookhill Community Primary School70%
=26Wardley Primary School70%
#29Carr Hill Community Primary School69%
=30Riverside Primary Academy68%
=30St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School, Dunston68%
=32Falla Park Community Primary School67%
=32Windy Nook Primary School67%
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Blaydon66%
#35Lobley Hill Primary School65%
=36Harlow Green Community Primary School64%
=36St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead64%
=38Kells Lane Primary School62%
=38St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead62%
=40Chopwell Primary School60%
=40Dunston Hill Community Primary School60%
=40Ravensworth Terrace Primary School60%
#43Birtley East Community Primary School59%
=44Barley Mow Primary School57%
=44Highfield Community Primary School57%
=44Roman Road Primary School57%
=44Washingwell Community Primary School57%
=48Bede Community Primary School56%
=48Glynwood Community Primary School56%
=48St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Wrekenton56%
=51Fell Dyke Community Primary School55%
=51The Drive Community Primary School55%
#53Swalwell Primary School54%
=54West Lane Primary School53%
=54White Mere Community Primary School53%
#56Rowlands Gill Community Primary School52%
#57Kelvin Grove Community Primary School48%
#58Lingey House Primary School47%
#59Larkspur Community Primary School42%
#60St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Pelaw41%
#61Parkhead Community Primary School40%
#62St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead39%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

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.

2nd of 3 junior schools in Gateshead for spending per pupil

#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.

Rank School Score

#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)

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