St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland is a strong and welcoming school where pupils take delight in learning, feel safe and achieve well. This was its first section 5 inspection since opening as an academy converter within Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, and under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. Inspectors found the quality of education good, with behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision all outstanding. The school’s ambitious curriculum is carefully mapped from Nursery to Year 6 and is designed for all pupils, including those with SEND, who are supported expertly to access the same curriculum and do well. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, relationships are warm and trusting, and personal development is exceptionally strong, including careers education and leadership opportunities. Leaders maintained the school’s community ethos and high expectations despite significant disruption caused by RAAC, which required pupils to be educated off-site for over two terms. The main area for improvement is early reading: some pupils at the early stages of reading do not consistently receive books that are well matched to their phonics knowledge, which slows their development of fluency and automaticity. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum carefully mapped from Nursery to Year 6 for all pupils
• Pupils achieve well and are well prepared for secondary school
• Exemplary pupil behaviour and high levels of respect
• Strong personal development and preparation for life in modern Britain
• Highly skilled early years interactions give children a bright start
• Expert SEND support removes barriers to learning
• Purposeful careers education and a wide range of enrichment opportunities
• Steadfast leadership maintained the school community and high expectations through RAAC disruption
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Some early readers do not consistently get books well matched to their phonics knowledge, slowing fluency and automaticity

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 Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.6% 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, 2.5% of pupils at St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 18.2% of pupils at St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland received £6,959 and spent £7,243 for each of its 197 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £279,000 (£1,419 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,338 and spending £7,295 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 Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which runs 31 schools. The nearest others:

• English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Jarrow
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Jarrow
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Jarrow
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Wilfrid's RC College South Shields
• St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy Sunderland

What is St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland last inspected by Ofsted?

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland have?

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland cover?

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland?

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland is at Bradford Avenue, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR5 4JW.