St John's Church of England Primary School

St John's Church of England Primary School is a welcoming and highly inclusive school where pupils are happy, safe and attend well. Inspectors found strong standards in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils behave calmly and respectfully, attendance is at or above national averages for all groups, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care are well supported. Safeguarding standards are met. The school achieves expected standards in achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and leadership and governance. Pupils generally achieve well in national checks, with above-average Year 4 multiplication results and a strong early reading focus. However, some gaps in basic knowledge remain, and teaching approaches vary at times so not all pupils secure knowledge as deeply as they could. Leaders have clear plans to address this. St John's is part of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust and has seen recent leadership changes, including an acting headteacher appointed in November 2025 and several staff moving into acting leadership roles. The school serves a diverse community with above-average location deprivation, and leaders know pupils and families well. Overall, the school is performing well with a clear capacity to improve further.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture where pupils feel safe, valued and supported.
• Consistently ambitious attendance standards, with rates at or above national averages.
• Calm, respectful and well-mannered behaviour across the school.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care.
• Strong personal development programme that prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Broad and balanced curriculum with secure subject knowledge across teaching.
• Positive start in early years with a strong focus on speech, language and communication.
• Leadership and governance provide targeted support and clear improvement priorities.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with effective professional learning.
• Parents speak highly of the school and trust the care provided.

Areas for Improvement

• Some gaps in basic knowledge remain for some pupils.
• Limited variability in teaching approaches means not all pupils secure knowledge as deeply as they could.
• Leaders should ensure highly effective teaching is embedded consistently across the school.
• Leaders should continue to identify and address gaps in foundational knowledge swiftly.

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 Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.8% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St John's Church of England 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's Church of England Primary School had 24.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.0% 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, 19.2% of pupils at St John's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Primary School received £6,517 and spent £5,873 for each of its 439 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £735,000 (£1,673 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, income was £7,225 and spending £7,175 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 Reading · Reading local authority: places and applications

St John's Church of England Primary School is part of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• New Town Primary School Reading
• New Christ Church Church of England Primary School Reading
• Kidmore End Church of England Primary School Reading
• Jennett's Park CofE Primary School Bracknell
• Burchetts Green CofE Infants' School Maidenhead
• Ranelagh School Bracknell
• Streatley Church of England Primary School Reading
• All Saints Church of England Junior School Maidenhead
• Holyport CofE Primary School Maidenhead
• St Luke's CofE Primary School Maidenhead

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

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

St John's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

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

St John's Church of England Primary School has 454 pupils on roll.

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

St John's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Church of England Primary School?

St John's Church of England Primary School is at 121-147 Orts Road, Reading, 121-147 Orts Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3JN.