St John's Church of England Academy

St John's Church of England Academy demonstrates outstanding performance across most domains, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. Pupils at the school are well-supported and excel academically, influenced by a rich curriculum tailored to their needs. The school's exceptional environment contributes to a strong sense of pride and responsibility among students. However, the early years provision has room for improvement, as some activities are changed too promptly, which impacts children's ability to refine their skills. This report marks the school's first inspection following its conversion to an academy and affiliation with the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust.

Strengths

• Exceptional pupil behaviour and support for one another.
• High expectations leading to outstanding academic achievement.
• Rich and inclusive curriculum tailored to pupils' needs.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Strong emphasis on personal development and community involvement.
• Highly effective phonics teaching that enables early reading success.
• Impeccable manners and respect among pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years activities sometimes change too soon, hindering skill development.

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 Academy attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.7% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St John's Church of England Academy 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 Academy had 25.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% 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, 18.1% of pupils at St John's Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 2024–25 St John's Church of England Academy received £6,598 and spent £7,341 for each of its 223 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £308,000 (£1,384 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust, income was £7,271 and spending £7,125 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

St John's Church of England Academy is part of Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust, which runs 22 schools. The nearest others:

• St. George's Church of England Academy
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School Bishopton
• Heighington Church of England Primary School Newton Aycliffe
• Egglescliffe Church of England Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Holy Trinity Rosehill CofE Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool Darlington
• Ingleton CofE Primary School Darlington
• Green Lane Church of England Primary School Barnard Castle
• St Aidan's Church of England Memorial Primary School Hartlepool

What is St John's Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Church of England Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St John's Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Church of England Academy was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St John's Church of England Academy have?

St John's Church of England Academy has 249 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Church of England Academy cover?

St John's Church of England Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St John's Church of England Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Church of England Academy?

St John's Church of England Academy is at Fenby Avenue, Lascelles Park, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 4UB.