St Josephs Special Sch
Moyola Lane, Thomas Hynes Road, Newcastle · H91 K095 · Roll number 19047H
St Josephs Special Sch is one of 3 special schools in or within 3 km of Newcastle. Every school in and around Newcastle →
What stands out about St Josephs Special Sch
- 80 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 80 pupils, 16% more than the 69 of 2019/20.
- The largest of the 3 special schools around Newcastle.
- 21 girls and 59 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is Ability West; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Josephs Special Sch had 80 pupils in 2025/26, against 72 in 2015/16 (+11%). Girls are 26% of them. Its largest roll was 81, in 2024/25. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Josephs Special Sch
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for St Josephs Special Sch is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on St Josephs Special Sch
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
Inspectors visit every kind of school. Whole-school evaluations look at teaching and learning, leadership and management; subject inspections look at one subject; follow-through inspections check whether earlier advice was taken. Each report is published on gov.ie with the school’s response.
Getting a place at St Josephs Special Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Josephs Special Sch follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Josephs Special Sch has grown by 16% since 2019/20. All the schools around Newcastle together changed by +1%.
Pupils since 2019/20
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
St Josephs Special Sch has more pupils than any of the 4 nearest special schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +16%; 1 of the 2 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Josephs Special Sch | 80 | +16% | Multi-denominational | English | ||
| Lakeview School | 76 | +85% | Catholic | English | 2.9 km | |
| Rosedale School | 75 | +12% | Catholic | English | 3 km | |
| Scoil Aine | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 5.7 km | |
| Ábalta Special School | 30 | – | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 6 km |
The other 3 special schools in Co. Galway
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre | 40 | +25% | Other | English | 29 km | |
| Tígh Nan Dooley Child Education and Development Centre | 19 | – | Other | English | 35 km | |
| St. Teresa's Special School | 47 | +74% | Other | English | 58 km |
Living in Newcastle
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the H91 Eircode area
Housing in Newcastle →The median sale price rose from €338,600 in 2023 to €408,300 in 2025 (+21%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the H91 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Newcastle
Cost of living in Newcastle →New tenancies in Newcastle averaged €1,850 a month in 2025, against €1,702 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Newcastle, H91 K095
Special schools near St Josephs Special Sch
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Josephs Special Sch
Is St Josephs Special Sch a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does St Josephs Special Sch have?
80 pupils in 2025/26. That is +16% since 2019/20.
Does St Josephs Special Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Josephs Special Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Josephs Special Sch?
St Josephs Special Sch has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Ability West.
How do pupils get a place at St Josephs Special Sch?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near St Josephs Special Sch?
The nearest are Lakeview School (2.9 km), Rosedale School (3 km) and Scoil Aine (5.7 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Newcastle; nothing here rates the school.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).