John F Kennedy Primary School

John F Kennedy Primary School demonstrates a strong standard of education with notable strengths in safeguarding, inclusion, and early years provision. The leaders prioritize student attendance and have implemented effective behavior management strategies, creating a respectful and calm atmosphere for learning. The school has responded well to increasing numbers of pupils with special educational needs, ensuring support is tailored to their needs, and fostering an inclusive environment where all pupils feel valued and safe. Despite these strengths, the school acknowledges issues with curriculum progression, particularly in developing foundational skills in reading and writing, necessitating ongoing improvements.

Strengths

• Strong safeguarding practices create a safe environment for pupils.
• Effective behavior management policies lead to well-behaved students.
• High-quality early years curriculum with a focus on literacy and numeracy.
• Inclusive approaches cater well to students with special educational needs.
• Strong community engagement with families to improve attendance.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not progress well through the curriculum.
• Gaps in basic knowledge, particularly in writing and handwriting.
• Inconsistent use of assessments to inform teaching across the school.
• Curriculum sequencing in some subjects does not build knowledge effectively.

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 F Kennedy Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.7% 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, 0.5% of pupils at John F Kennedy 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 John F Kennedy Primary School had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% 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, 24.8% of pupils at John F Kennedy Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 24 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 2024–25 John F Kennedy Primary School received £7,654 and spent £7,301 for each of its 415 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,168,000 (£2,815 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Oak Learning Trust, income was £8,181 and spending £6,954 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 Washington · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

John F Kennedy Primary School is part of Oak Learning Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Columbia Grange School Washington
• George Washington Primary School Washington
• Springwell Village Primary School Gateshead
• Fellgate Primary School Jarrow
• Monkton Academy South Shields
• Riverside Primary Academy Gateshead

What is John F Kennedy Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John F Kennedy Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was John F Kennedy Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

John F Kennedy Primary School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does John F Kennedy Primary School have?

John F Kennedy Primary School has 412 pupils on roll.

What age range does John F Kennedy Primary School cover?

John F Kennedy Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are John F Kennedy Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is John F Kennedy Primary School?

John F Kennedy Primary School is at Station Road, Columbia, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 7AR.