St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Junior School serves the Catholic community of Port Talbot, including the parishes of St Joseph’s, Port Talbot, Our Lady of Margam and Our Lady of the Assumption, Briton Ferry. As a Community First Area, the school’s catchment contains pockets of significant social deprivation and is considered economically disadvantaged. The school caters for pupils aged from seven to 11 and there are currently 118 on roll. Numbers have declined over the last few years. Most pupils are of white British ethnic origin and all speak English at home. Welsh is taught as a second language. Currently 12% of the pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is much lower than the average for the local authority and Wales. The school has identified about 36% of pupils as having additional learning needs. This is above the national and local average. The headteacher has been in post since September 2008. The individual school budget per pupil for St Joseph's Catholic Junior School in 2012-2013 means that the budget is £3,322 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the primary schools in Neath Port Talbot is £7,410 and the minimum is £2,806. St Joseph's Catholic Junior School is 44th out of the 68 primary schools in Neath Port Talbot in terms of its school budget per pupil.’ 1 A report on St Joseph's Junior School October 2012 Summary The school’s current performance The school’s prospects for improvement Good Good Current performance The current performance of the school is good because:  pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 at the expected level is consistently high;  Most pupils make good progress;  the school ensures a caring, inclusive community in which pupils feel happy and safe;  the behaviour of nearly all pupils is excellent; and  there is a family ethos that is based on respecting the rights of all individuals. Prospects for improvement The school’s prospects for improvement are good because:  the headteacher and governors have a clear vision for the school, which is effectively communicated to all stakeholders;  self-evaluation is based firmly on a good range of first hand evidence, including a thorough analysis of a wide range of data;  planning for developing the use of new technologies throughout the curriculum is good; and  partnerships with parents, the community and other schools are strong and contribute effectively to fulfilling the school’s aims.