St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame

South Oxfordshire · OX9 2AB

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 162 pupils, 11.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13% on SEN support Behaviour 5.0% absence rate Staff 23.1% turnover Financials £6,773 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame

General Information

Address: Brook Lane, Thame, OX9 2AB – View on map
Phone: 01844214278
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Elizabeth Sienkiewicz
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 18 families put it first for 24 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 11 of the 24 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 10 · 2025 8 · 2026 8
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

162 pupils out of 210 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 18
% eligible for free school meals: 11.1%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the South Oxfordshire average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 23.1% a year (South Oxfordshire 18%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 54% moved to another school, 46% 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 Oxfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 2 (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 Oxfordshire (the council area this school is in), 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: 5.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 9.2%
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: 13.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
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

Good 2019 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 63% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 13% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 4 percentage points below the South Oxfordshire average (67%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 55% against an expected 63%)
3-year average (expected standard): 55%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 73% · Maths 70% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 70%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 103
Based on: 30 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 schoolSouth Oxfordshire averageEngland↗ Improving Up 23 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4 percentage points below the South Oxfordshire average (67%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 33rd of 53 junior and primary schools in the area

=33Great Milton Church of England Primary School63%
=33Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary School63%
=33St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame63%
=33Watlington Primary School63%
#37Cholsey Primary School61%

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

#1Nettlebed Community School100%
=2RAF Benson Community Primary School94%
=2Valley Road School94%
#4Shiplake Church of England School86%
#5Mill Lane Community Primary School83%
#6Goring Church of England Aided Primary School81%
#7Peppard Church of England Primary School80%
#8Aureus Primary School78%
#9John Hampden Primary School77%
#10Wheatley Church of England Primary School76%
=11All Saints Church of England Primary School75%
=11Badgemore Primary School75%
=13Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England School73%
=13Hagbourne Church of England Primary School73%
=13St Laurence Church of England School73%
=16Abbey Woods Academy70%
=16Fir Tree Junior School70%
=16Ladygrove Park Primary School70%
=16Sonning Common Primary School70%
=16Tetsworth Primary School70%
=21South Moreton Primary School69%
=21Stadhampton Primary School69%
=21Willowcroft Community School69%
=24Barley Hill Primary School68%
=24Garsington Church of England Primary School68%
=24Kidmore End Church of England Primary School68%
=27Beckley Church of England Primary School67%
=27Europa School UK67%
=27Horspath Church of England Primary School67%
#30Whitchurch Primary School65%
=31Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary School64%
=31Trinity Church of England Primary School64%
=33Great Milton Church of England Primary School63%
=33Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary School63%
=33St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame63%
=33Watlington Primary School63%
#37Cholsey Primary School61%
#38Lewknor Church of England Primary School60%
#39St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Chinnor58%
#40St John's Primary School57%
=41Northbourne Church of England Primary School56%
=41Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames56%
#43Manor Primary School53%
#44Woodcote Primary School52%
=45Ewelme CofE Primary School50%
=45Marsh Baldon CofE Primary School50%
#47Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School48%
=48Aston Rowant Church of England Primary School40%
=48Chalgrove Community Primary School40%
#50Dorchester St Birinus Church of England School38%
#51Benson Church of England Primary School34%
#52Stoke Row CofE Primary School33%
#53South Stoke Primary School17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

33rd of 43 primary schools in South Oxfordshire for Ofsted rating

#31Sonning Common Primary SchoolGood
#32St John's Primary SchoolGood
#33St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, ThameGood
#34St Nicholas CofE Primary School , WallingfordGood
#35Stadhampton Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Aureus Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Abbey Woods AcademyGood
#3Aston Rowant Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#4Barley Hill Primary SchoolGood
#5Beckley Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#6Benson Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#7Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#8Chalgrove Community Primary SchoolGood
#9Cholsey Primary SchoolGood
#10Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#11Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England SchoolGood
#12Dorchester St Birinus Church of England SchoolGood
#13Ewelme CofE Primary SchoolGood
#14Fir Tree Junior SchoolGood
#15Garsington Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#16Goring Church of England Aided Primary SchoolGood
#17Great Milton Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#18Horspath Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#19John Hampden Primary SchoolGood
#20Kidmore End Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#21Ladygrove Park Primary SchoolGood
#22Lewknor Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#23Little Milton Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#24Manor Primary SchoolGood
#25Marsh Baldon CofE Primary SchoolGood
#26Mill Lane Community Primary SchoolGood
#27Nettlebed Community SchoolGood
#28Northbourne Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#29RAF Benson Community Primary SchoolGood
#30Shiplake Church of England SchoolGood
#31Sonning Common Primary SchoolGood
#32St John's Primary SchoolGood
#33St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, ThameGood
#34St Nicholas CofE Primary School , WallingfordGood
#35Stadhampton Primary SchoolGood
#36Stoke Row CofE Primary SchoolGood
#37Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#38Valley Road SchoolGood
#39Whitchurch Primary SchoolGood
#40Willowcroft Community SchoolGood
#41Woodcote Primary SchoolGood
#42Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary SchoolRequires improvement
#43Tetsworth Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,773 (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.

34th of 56 primary schools in South Oxfordshire for spending per pupil

#32Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England School£6,829
#33Ewelme CofE Primary School£6,789
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame£6,773
#35Valley Road School£6,773
#36Checkendon Church of England (A) Primary School£6,559

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

#1South Stoke Primary School£18,128
#2Sires Hill Primary Academy£12,279
#3Stoke Row CofE Primary School£10,434
#4Marsh Baldon CofE Primary School£10,045
#5Little Milton Church of England Primary School£9,877
#6Beckley Church of England Primary School£9,584
#7Abbey Woods Academy£9,580
#8Tetsworth Primary School£9,570
#9Lewknor Church of England Primary School£9,070
#10Peppard Church of England Primary School£9,006
#11RAF Benson Community Primary School£8,866
#12Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary School£8,765
#13Badgemore Primary School£8,172
#14Shiplake Church of England School£8,080
#15Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary School£7,682
#16Dorchester St Birinus Church of England School£7,587
#17Sonning Common Primary School£7,528
#18South Moreton Primary School£7,371
#19St Nicholas CofE Primary School , Wallingford£7,350
#20Whitchurch Primary School£7,307
#21Stadhampton Primary School£7,287
#22Kidmore End Church of England Primary School£7,163
#23Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames£7,124
#24St John's Primary School£7,106
#25Aston Rowant Church of England Primary School£7,103
#26Willowcroft Community School£7,102
#27Nettlebed Community School£7,098
#28Great Milton Church of England Primary School£7,081
#29St Laurence Church of England School£6,970
#30Woodcote Primary School£6,949
#31Barley Hill Primary School£6,877
#32Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England School£6,829
#33Ewelme CofE Primary School£6,789
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame£6,773
#35Valley Road School£6,773
#36Checkendon Church of England (A) Primary School£6,559
#37Mill Lane Community Primary School£6,512
#38Horspath Church of England Primary School£6,457
#39Cholsey Primary School£6,380
#40Hagbourne Church of England Primary School£6,366
#41Manor Primary School£6,329
#42Goring Church of England Aided Primary School£6,303
#43Trinity Church of England Primary School£6,253
#44Garsington Church of England Primary School£6,239
#45Ladygrove Park Primary School£6,235
#46St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Chinnor£6,211
#47Fir Tree Junior School£6,068
#48All Saints Church of England Primary School£6,017
#49Wheatley Church of England Primary School£5,993
#50Watlington Primary School£5,940
#51John Hampden Primary School£5,891
#52Northbourne Church of England Primary School£5,777
#53Aureus Primary School£5,748
#54Chalgrove Community Primary School£5,601
#55Benson Church of England Primary School£5,472
#56Stephen Freeman Primary School£5,126

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

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