St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester

St John’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School in Colchester continues to demonstrate a solid commitment to providing a good education for its students. The school fosters a welcoming environment where pupils feel proud of their community and display good behavior. Staff maintain high expectations, enabling most pupils to achieve well across various subjects. The curriculum is ambitious and well-structured, particularly in areas such as reading and mathematics, and there are effective supports for students with special educational needs. Furthermore, pupils contribute positively to school life and enjoy participating in extra-curricular activities, which enhances their personal development.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud to be part of the St John's community.
• Staff have high expectations of pupil achievement.
• The school has an ambitious and well-designed curriculum.
• Pupils receive effective support in reading and mathematics.
• Pupil behavior is good, contributing to a positive learning environment.
• Extra-curricular activities are diverse and inclusive.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum improvements in physical education and design and technology are relatively new.
• Some subjects lack thorough oversight by subject leaders.

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 Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester 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 Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester had 23.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 8.6% of pupils at St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester received £7,208 and spent £7,323 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £138,000 (£657 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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• Secondary Schools

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester have?

St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester cover?

St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester?

St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester is at Clay Lane Grove, St Johns C of E Primary School, Colchester, Essex, CO4 0HH.