St John's Roman Catholic Primary School

St John’s Roman Catholic Primary School is performing exceptionally well. Inspectors found a compassionate, high-expectation school where pupils are kind and live out the school’s vision to love and serve one another. The curriculum is ambitious, broad and well sequenced from Nursery to Year 6, and pupils learn and remember it exceptionally well. Disadvantaged pupils achieve equally highly, and pupils’ work shows depth of understanding across subjects. The school’s strengths are wide-ranging. Early reading and phonics are carefully designed and expertly taught, with quick catch-up support where needed. Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and supported well, behaviour and attendance are highly positive, and an extensive programme of visits and activities builds character. Safeguarding is effective, and governors and staff are well supported. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first since a new headteacher was appointed. It has a Roman Catholic ethos, and under the current inspection framework it does not receive an overall effectiveness grade; all key judgements were outstanding and the report identifies no areas for improvement.

Strengths

• Ambitious, broad and well-sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6
• Pupils learn and remember curriculum knowledge exceptionally well and achieve highly
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve equally highly
• Expert teaching and skilful checks quickly identify and fill gaps in knowledge
• Carefully designed early reading and phonics curriculum with rapid catch-up support
• Prompt identification and well-targeted support for pupils with SEND
• Highly positive behaviour and very strong attendance
• Extensive character-building experiences, including chess, golf, sailing and residential visits, available to all pupils
• Strong personal, social, health and economic education covering health, safety and fundamental British values
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Governors know and support the school well
• Staff benefit from strong well-being support and well-planned professional development
• Early years curriculum builds excellent foundations in personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, and physical development

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 Roman Catholic Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St John's Roman Catholic 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 Roman Catholic Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.3% 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, 11.7% of pupils at St John's Roman Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Roman Catholic Primary School received £8,421 and spent £8,630 for each of its 239 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £228,000 (£956 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southwark · Southwark local authority: places and applications

What is St John's Roman Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Roman Catholic Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St John's Roman Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Roman Catholic Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St John's Roman Catholic Primary School have?

St John's Roman Catholic Primary School has 240 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Roman Catholic Primary School cover?

St John's Roman Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St John's Roman Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 92% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Roman Catholic Primary School?

St John's Roman Catholic Primary School is at St Elmo's Road, Rotherhithe, London, SE16 6SD.