John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery

John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery is performing well overall, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2018. Most pupils express happiness at school, enjoying a variety of extracurricular activities such as sports and drama workshops. The school has effectively adopted a new phonics scheme to support early reading, with noticeable improvements among younger students. However, some older pupils, including those with special educational needs, still struggle with reading fluency, indicating the need for continued development in this area.

Strengths

• Students are happy and engaged in their learning.
• The school promotes a love of reading through regular reading sessions with staff and parents.
• Teaching is typically lively and encourages pupils to think critically.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND through small-group interventions.
• Effective leadership is visible and approachable for both pupils and parents.

Areas for Improvement

• Some older pupils are not reading fluently, including those with SEND.
• Curriculum organization makes it difficult for pupils to remember what they have learned.
• A small number of pupils misbehave, affecting learning occasionally.

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 John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.8% 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, 3.7% of pupils at John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.6% 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, 24.2% of pupils at John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery received £7,840 and spent £7,168 for each of its 501 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £500,000 (£998 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 Braintree · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery have?

John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery has 501 pupils on roll.

What age range does John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery cover?

John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery?

John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery is at Lancaster Way, John Bunyanprimary, Braintree, Essex, CM7 5UL.