St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Coombeshead Road, Highweek, Newton Abbot, TQ12 1PTOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a primary school in Newton Abbot for ages 5 to 11. It is one of the 416 schools in Devon. It ranks 10th of 27 primary schools in Newton Abbot. Its latest Ofsted rating is Requires improvement, from an inspection in December 2023.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 6 December 2023, report published 28 January 2024
- Overall effectiveness
- Requires improvement
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years provision
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 6 December 2023
Pupils are proud of their school. They are happy and they feel safe and welcome. Parents and carers appreciate the close relationships staff build with their children. The trust and staff are ambitious for pupils to succeed. However, the quality of education does not always match this ambition. Pupils have the opportunity to take part in a range of roles. The school chaplains help to lead prayer. Play leaders help to ensure breaktime is purposeful. These roles enable pupils to build their confidence. Older pupils believe that everyone should be treated fairly. They act as role models for younger pupils. Older pupils take this responsibility seriously. Pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences. They visit the local museum, and younger pupils visit local retirement homes to sing to older generations. Pupils know what it means to stay safe, both online and in the community. They are confident that if they have any concerns, there are trusted adults for them to speak to.
What the school should improve
- In some subjects, teachers do not assess or use assessment information to adapt the curriculum sufficiently well. This means pupils cannot build on prior learning. The trust needs to support teachers to use assessment information to adapt the curriculum effectively to ensure pupils know and remember the curriculum's essential knowledge, skills and vocabulary.
- Some staff do not always have the subject knowledge to teach the curriculum in a way that supports pupils to build a depth of knowledge. This hinders the learning of some pupils. The trust needs to ensure that all staff have the expertise to teach the curriculum in a way that supports all pupils to learn successfully.
- Pupils do not have a full understanding of fundamental British values. This means that they are not fully prepared for life in modern Britain. The trust should ensure that it further develops pupils' understanding of British values and that pupils have a clear understanding of what this means in their lives.
Exam results
SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25
7 pupils took the tests
Pupil numbers and mix
80 pupils on roll, with places for 210
Schools near St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highweek Community Primary and Nursery School | 0.3 miles | Ofsted: Good | 50% met the expected standard |
| Bradley Barton Primary School and Nursery Unit | 0.5 miles | Ofsted: Good | 74% met the expected standard |
| Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School | 0.6 miles | Ofsted: Good | 63% met the expected standard |
| Bearnes Voluntary Primary School | 0.7 miles | Ofsted judgements: Requires improvement to good | 31% met the expected standard |
| All Saints Marsh CofE Academy | 0.9 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good | 85% met the expected standard |
School details
- School type
- Academy converter
- Sector
- Academy
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Age range
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Nursery classes
- No
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nichola Day
- Phone
- 01626352559
- Address
- Coombeshead Road, Highweek, Newton Abbot, TQ12 1PT
- Local authority
- Devon
- URN
- 140765
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.