St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School

St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School is a genuinely caring and inclusive church school where pupils feel safe, behave well, and are supported as individuals and as families. Inspectors found strong standards in attendance and behaviour, early years, and inclusion, and the expected standard in achievement, curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. The school serves a disadvantaged community, with very high levels of free school meals, SEN support, and location deprivation, but this context is handled well: disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND attend better than national averages, and disadvantaged pupils outperform national disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged peers in reading and mathematics. The strongest features are the early years provision, which gives children a nurturing start and very good progress from low starting points, and the school's inclusive culture, which quickly identifies additional needs and provides well-planned support. Behaviour is calm and purposeful, relationships are positive, and pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education. Reading, writing, and mathematics are prioritised, and there is an ambitious, language-rich curriculum. There are still areas to refine. Pupils' writing is improving but is not yet as embedded as reading and mathematics, and the wider curriculum beyond English and mathematics is not consistently deepening pupils' understanding. Checks on learning in foundation subjects are not precise enough, so teaching can move on too soon. Personal development is broad, but pupils' depth of knowledge varies, especially around healthy relationships. Leaders also need to strengthen their analysis of whole-school performance, including the impact of staff training and the personal development offer.

Strengths

• Open and positive safeguarding culture, with safeguarding standards met.
• Strong attendance and behaviour, supported by bespoke work with families.
• Persistent absence is low, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND attend better than national figures.
• Calm, purposeful behaviour across lessons and playtimes, underpinned by consistent expectations.
• Highly positive relationships and a respectful, caring school culture.
• Early years is a welcoming, nurturing start where children make very good progress from low starting points.
• Early years curriculum is meticulously planned, with consistent phonics, writing and mathematics.
• Highly inclusive provision that identifies additional needs swiftly and supports SEND and disadvantaged pupils well.
• Effective use of external professionals and targeted staff training to reduce barriers to learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils outperform national disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged peers in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education.
• Ambitious, well-designed curriculum prioritises language acquisition and communication across the school.
• Staff have secure subject knowledge and explain new ideas clearly in most subjects.
• Leaders and governors know the school well, meet statutory duties and act in pupils' best interests.
• Professional learning is linked carefully to whole-school priorities.
• Pastoral support and a broad personal development offer prepare pupils well for life beyond school.
• Christian ethos and values underpin an inclusive personal development curriculum.
• Staff are overwhelmingly positive, value workload and wellbeing support, and feel part of a family.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' writing is not yet as securely embedded as reading and mathematics, and recent improvements are not fully reflected in national outcomes.
• The curriculum in subjects other than English and mathematics is not consistently embedded, so pupils do not always develop the same depth of understanding.
• Checks on pupils' learning in foundation subjects are not precise enough, allowing teaching to move on before learning is fully embedded.
• Pupils' understanding across personal development topics varies, with less secure knowledge of healthy relationships.
• Leaders' analysis of whole-school performance is sometimes less precise and can be overshadowed by a focus on individual needs.
• Leaders should strengthen analysis of the impact of staff training and the personal development offer.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.9% of pupils at St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 28.6% of pupils at St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School received £10,224 and spent £10,254 for each of its 192 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £259,000 (£1,347 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School have?

St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School has 206 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School cover?

St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School?

St John's Upper Holloway CofE Primary School is at Pemberton Gardens, Upper Holloway, London, N19 5RR.