St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe

St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe, is an improving school that inspectors judged to be meeting expected standards across all inspected areas, with safeguarding met. The school is part of The Sycamore Church of England Trust and has a new headteacher since its previous inspection. It serves a relatively small pupil population with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above-average location deprivation. Inspectors found leaders' passion and commitment to pupils is strong, and leaders have an accurate view of the school's strengths and priorities. The curriculum is ambitious and coherent, behaviour is good, attendance is improving, and inclusion is a priority. Pupils are happy, feel safe, behave respectfully and benefit from a wide personal development offer, including wellbeing support, pupil leadership roles and the Sycamore Seven activities. Early years provision is effective, with a strong focus on vocabulary and warm relationships. Reading has been prioritised, and pupils who are new to English catch up quickly, while disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND typically achieve close to national averages. Two main areas for continued improvement remain. Persistent absence, although reduced, is still high compared with national figures, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. In writing, some teachers do not consistently spot gaps in spelling, punctuation and grammar, which leads to repeated errors. Published outcomes in some subjects are below national averages in recent years but are improving, and leaders are already taking steps to address the identified priorities.

Strengths

• Leaders are passionate, committed and have an accurate view of the school's strengths and priorities.
• The curriculum is ambitious, coherently ordered and builds learning over time.
• Pupils behave well, follow clear routines and respond to the school motto 'Be Ready, Be Respectful and Be Safe'.
• Bullying and unkind behaviour are rare, and pupils trust staff to resolve concerns effectively.
• Attendance is improving, and leaders work creatively and steadfastly with families to remove barriers.
• Inclusion is a priority, with effective identification of needs and productive work with external specialists.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND typically achieve close to national averages.
• Leaders make effective use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.
• Early years provision is ambitious, with strong vocabulary development and warm relationships.
• Reading has been prioritised, and pupils new to English catch up quickly.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is coherent, with wide opportunities such as the Sycamore Seven, clubs and pupil leadership roles.
• Staff appreciate leaders' support for their workload and wellbeing, and are proud to work at the school.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not consistently identify gaps in spelling, punctuation and grammar, leading to repeated errors in pupils' writing.
• Persistent absence remains high compared with national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
• Some published outcomes in writing and mathematics were below national averages in recent years, although data is improving.

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, Radcliffe attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe 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, Radcliffe had 20.9 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, 16.2% of pupils at St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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, Radcliffe received £8,791 and spent £8,109 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £217,000 (£1,060 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Sycamore Church of England Trust Limited, income was £7,397 and spending £7,657 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). 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.

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

St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe is part of The Sycamore Church of England Trust Limited, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Radcliffe Hall Church of England Methodist Primary School Manchester
• St Stephen's Church of England Primary School Bury
• Holy Trinity Primary School Bury
• Christ Church Ainsworth Church of England Primary School Bolton
• St Thomas Church of England Primary School Bury
• Christ Church CofE Primary School Bury

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

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

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

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

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

St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe has 216 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

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

St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe is at Johnson Street, Radcliffe, Bury, M26 1AW.