Clayton St John CofE Primary School

Clayton St John CofE Primary School is a nurturing and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, enjoy attending and are well cared for. Inspectors found considerable improvement since the previous inspection, with all key judgements now good. The school has high expectations, a well-designed and sequenced curriculum, and reading is a clear priority. Pupils behave well, attendance is improving, and the early years provision prepares children well for Year 1. The school's provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength, including its bespoke provisions. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, cared for and enjoy attending this nurturing and inclusive school.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well designed and sequenced so pupils' knowledge builds over time.
• Reading is a priority, with daily class reading and effective phonics support for pupils who struggle.
• Provision for pupils with SEND is a strength, including high-quality bespoke provisions.
• Pupils behave well, classrooms are calm and purposeful, and suspension rates are decreasing.
• Attendance systems are strong, with attendance improving and persistent absenteeism reducing.
• Early years provision is well crafted and prepares children well for Year 1.
• Personal development is strong, including British values, relationships education and pupil leadership roles.
• Governors and trustees provide strong oversight, and staff feel well supported.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not receive sufficient opportunities to deepen their understanding of the curriculum.
• A low number of pupils reach greater depth levels of understanding by the end of key stage 2.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent in some subjects, so pupils' knowledge is less secure in those areas.
• Published outcomes do not yet fully reflect the improvements made to the curriculum.

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 Clayton St John CofE Primary School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.5% 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, 5.0% of pupils at Clayton St John CofE 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 Clayton St John CofE Primary School had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.7% 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, 11.3% of pupils at Clayton St John CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.6% 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 2024–25 Clayton St John CofE Primary School received £7,794 and spent £7,738 for each of its 374 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £129,000 (£344 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £8,537 and spending £8,479 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Clayton St John CofE Primary School is part of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• The Academy At St. James Bradford
• St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Bradford Girls' Grammar School Bradford
• Lady Royd Primary School Bradford
• Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy Bradford
• St Philip's CofE Primary School Bradford
• Belle Vue Girls' Academy Bradford
• St Matthew's CofE Primary School and Nursery Bradford
• Westminster Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Shipley CofE Primary School Shipley

What is Clayton St John CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Clayton St John CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Clayton St John CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Clayton St John CofE Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Clayton St John CofE Primary School have?

Clayton St John CofE Primary School has 364 pupils on roll.

What age range does Clayton St John CofE Primary School cover?

Clayton St John CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Clayton St John CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Clayton St John CofE Primary School?

Clayton St John CofE Primary School is at Bradford Road, Clayton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD14 6DD.