ISI Inspection

ISI Inspection September 2025

St Joseph’s School is proud to have met all statutory Independent School Standards in our September 2025 ISI inspection, with inspectors praising the quality of education, pastoral care, and safeguarding across the school.  While there are no longer final gradings awarded under the current inspection framework, we are delighted to read how many strengths the report identified.

The report highlights our broad and engaging curriculum, strong academic outcomes, and extensive opportunities for personal development through sport, music, drama, and outdoor learning. It commends our inclusive ethos, positive relationships, and commitment to pupils’ wellbeing, alongside a robust culture of safeguarding that ensures every child feels safe and supported. With excellent provision for SEND, a comprehensive careers programme, and a focus on respect, tolerance, and British values, St Joseph’s continues to provide a nurturing environment where pupils thrive academically and personally.

We are proudly a school where we do not select by academic performance, and one where students of all abilities can thrive. Pupils can follow their own paths and have access to the breadth of the curriculum at their own level. 

St Joseph’s is commended for its excellent pastoral care, inclusive ethos, and strong academic provision, underpinned by a culture of safeguarding and continuous improvement. The report rightly highlights that we are a school that provides a safe, nurturing environment where pupils thrive academically and personally. What more could you want for your child?

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ISI Inspection December 2022

Proud To Be Excellent

St Joseph’s was last inspected on the 6th to the 8th of December 2022. This Inspection was a combined Focused Compliance Inspection (FCI) with an accompanying Educational Quality Inspection (EQI). The inspectors saw the school at the end of the Autumn Term as it really is: with Junior School productions going on, pupils gearing up for the end of term and all that the week before breaking up for the Christmas Holidays brings.

I am delighted that they did, as their judgements were that the quality of the pupils’ academic and other achievements are Excellent and that the quality of the pupils’ personal development are Excellent, as well as that the school was Fully Compliant with ALL aspects of the Independent Schools Standards and Regulations. These are the highest grades that can be awarded under the exacting ISI criteria, and place the school at the forefront of all Independent Schools across the country.

Please do take the time to read the report. If you are considering St Joseph’s for your child’s education, I have no doubt that it will help guide your choice, and look forward to welcoming you for a visit to the school. If you are an current parent, I hope this makes you feel as proud of your children, their school, and their successes, as I am of each one of them.

We have been judged to be an Excellent school: a school where our pupils “believe that everyone deserves to be treated kindly, and acknowledge that learning from one’s mistakes is a strength;” a school where pupils “are considerate towards each other, irrespective of gender or the relevant protected characteristics and are generous in their praise of their peers’ successes;” and a school where “Pupils are highly enthusiastic learners, fully focused and keen to fulfil their potential at every stage of their school life.”

St Joseph’s is a school of which I am immensely proud, and in the eighth year of my Headship at St Jo’s the Inspection, perhaps counterintuitively, proved the best Christmas present I could have asked for. However, while we are very happy with the report, there is no room for complacency: the Governors, the Senior Management Team and every member of staff remain committed to ensuring that St Joseph’s remains the Independent school of choice in the South West, and determined to continue to improve. We can always learn, we can always find excitement in the new, and we can always be as excited about tomorrow as we are about today. As for the children, so for the teachers.

If you have any questions regarding the report, or any other aspect of school life, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Mr Oliver Scott

Headteacher
headteacher@stjosephscornwall.co.uk