St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School provides a happy, nurturing, and inclusive environment for its pupils, with a strong emphasis on pastoral care and high behavioral expectations. The school has made notable progress in its education quality, particularly in phonics and reading, with effective support for pupils who struggle. However, the outcomes for some pupils have been flagged as needing improvement, particularly following a challenging academic year. The school leadership has shown commitment to addressing these challenges, and early signs indicate a positive trajectory for future performance.

Strengths

• Happy and nurturing school environment
• Strong pastoral care and support for pupils and families
• High expectations for behavior and mutual respect among pupils
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs
• Passion for reading evident throughout the school
• Variety of extracurricular activities available to students
• Strong leadership and skilled governors

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum documents lack clarity, leading to confusion
• Some children underachieving by end of early years
• Pupils struggling to articulate understanding of British values and protected characteristics

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 the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.5% 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, 0.6% of pupils at St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 14.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.0% 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, 20.4% of pupils at St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 21.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 pupils and resourced provision with 25 pupils.

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 the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School received £12,226 and spent £11,558 for each of its 297 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £392,000 (£1,321 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 Stockton-On-Tees · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

What is St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 309 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School cover?

St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 24% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is at St John's Way, Ragworth, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 0FB.