St John Fisher Catholic Primary School

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is a highly effective, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, cared for and valued. Inspectors found provision to be outstanding in almost every area, with pupils showing exemplary behaviour, exceptional attitudes to learning and consistently high achievement. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, and staff feel well supported by leaders who manage workload carefully. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is a Roman Catholic primary school. The curriculum is exceptionally well designed across subjects, helping pupils build and recall knowledge and produce work of a very high standard. Reading is a particular strength: pupils learn to read from the start, teachers are skilled in phonics, and those at risk of falling behind catch up quickly. Pupils with SEND receive excellent support, and pupils make a meaningful contribution to school and community life. The early years provision is good, and children settle quickly and become confident learners. The main area for improvement is in the early years, where the curriculum does not always precisely identify the important knowledge and vocabulary children need across areas of learning. As a result, some children are not as fully prepared as they could be for key stage 1. Safeguarding is effective.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, cared for and committed to caring for each other.
• The school has a distinctive nurturing ethos with values such as hope and courage.
• Pupils concentrate, work hard, show resilience and achieve highly.
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, and they have no concerns about bullying.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive and trust leaders and staff.
• The curriculum is exceedingly well thought through across all subjects.
• Pupils achieve consistently high results, with some exceeding expected standards.
• Pupils develop strong values and are exceptionally well prepared for life beyond primary school.
• Pupils love reading and learn to read from the moment they start school.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and give precise guidance.
• Pupils with SEND receive excellent support.
• Children get off to a great start in the early years and become confident learners.
• Pupils make a deeply meaningful contribution to the school and community.
• The school provides many exciting opportunities beyond the curriculum.
• Attendance is high because pupils value coming to school.
• Staff feel part of a family and say leaders are supportive and manage workload well.
• Governors know the school well and ensure funding removes barriers for disadvantaged pupils.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The early years curriculum does not always precisely identify the important knowledge and vocabulary children need across areas of learning.
• Some children are not as fully prepared as they could be for learning in key stage 1.

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 Fisher Catholic Primary School attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.3% 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 Fisher 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 Fisher Catholic Primary School had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% 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, 16.4% of pupils at St John Fisher Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Fisher Catholic Primary School received £8,749 and spent £9,207 for each of its 177 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £137,000 (£777 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 Bexley · Bexley local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St John Fisher Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St John Fisher Catholic Primary School have?

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School has 177 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John Fisher Catholic Primary School cover?

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 90% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John Fisher Catholic Primary School?

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is at Kale Road, Thamesmead, Erith, Kent, DA18 4BA.