Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School

Mortimer St. John’s C.E. Infant School is a caring and welcoming school where pupils enjoy learning and behave well. Inspectors found the school good in all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade was given. The school is part of the Mortimer Federation of St. John’s and St. Mary’s. The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND, and pupils typically learn well. Strengths include strong early years provision, a broad curriculum with particularly well-considered English and mathematics, effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged families, high expectations for behaviour, and a comprehensive personal development programme. Reading is prioritised, and pupils benefit from a range of clubs, visits and leadership roles. Two main areas need improvement. Phonics teaching and modelling of pure sounds are sometimes not effective enough, which can leave gaps for weaker readers. In a few subjects, the curriculum covers too much breadth at the expense of depth, so pupils do not always build the deeper knowledge they could.

Strengths

• Positive, caring relationships create a welcoming family feel.
• Pupils are polite, calm, motivated and feel safe.
• The broad, balanced curriculum helps pupils build secure knowledge across subjects.
• English and mathematics curricula are particularly well considered.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and additional help usually meets their needs.
• The school makes a concerted effort to support disadvantaged pupils and families.
• Children make a strong start in the early years.
• Reading is prioritised, with regular fluency sessions and timely phonics checks.
• High expectations for behaviour are supported by clear routines.
• Personal development is comprehensive, including pupil leadership roles, clubs and visits.
• Governance provides strong support and challenge.
• Staff feel well supported and staff well-being is taken seriously.

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics teaching and modelling of pure sounds are sometimes not effective enough.
• Some pupils have gaps in phonics knowledge that are not addressed quickly enough.
• Support for pupils falling behind in phonics is occasionally not delivered as intended.
• In a few subjects, the curriculum needs further refinement to clarify key knowledge and skills.
• Some curriculum areas focus too much on breadth at the expense of depth.
• In some subjects, pupils do not learn and remember as much as they could.

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 Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.6% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant 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 Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.6% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 2019–20 Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School received £4,988 and spent £5,019 for each of its 168 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £24,000 (£143 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 Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School have?

Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School has 164 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School cover?

Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School?

Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School is at The Street, Mortimer Common, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 3RD.