St John's CofE Primary School

St John’s CofE Primary School continues to demonstrate good performance in its educational offerings and community involvement. Pupils enjoy a safe and supportive environment thanks to strong relationships among pupils, staff, and families. The school maintains high expectations for behaviour and achievement, leading to positive outcomes for most students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Moreover, extra-curricular activities enrich the students' experiences, fostering a strong sense of community pride among them. While the school has many strengths, it also faces some challenges. A few staff members require further training to effectively deliver aspects of the early reading curriculum, leaving a small number of pupils in need of additional support to achieve fluency. Additionally, in certain subjects, teachers need better tools for assessing what pupils remember, which impacts the overall retention of knowledge. Leaders are aware of these issues and are working diligently to ensure improvements.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and supported thanks to strong routines and relationships.
• High expectations for behaviour instill self-belief in pupils.
• Leaders have designed a curriculum that prepares pupils well for future education.
• Teachers generally deliver learning effectively and support students, including those with SEND.
• A range of extra-curricular activities enhance pupil engagement and community involvement.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of staff are still honing their expertise in delivering the early reading curriculum.
• In a small number of subjects, some teachers are not well equipped to use assessment methods effectively.

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 CofE Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.2% 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 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 CofE Primary School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 29.7% of pupils at St John's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 CofE Primary School received £7,702 and spent £8,134 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £169,000 (£912 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 Wigan · Wigan local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

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

St John's CofE Primary School was last inspected in June 2023.

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

St John's CofE Primary School has 185 pupils on roll.

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

St John's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's CofE Primary School?

St John's CofE Primary School is at Church Street, Pemberton, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 0DT.