St John's Church of England Primary Academy

Overview

St John’s Church of England Primary Academy is described as a “calm and orderly place” where staff provide a “warm welcome” and demonstrate a “strong sense of pastoral care.” The report highlights that pupils are “happy,” “eager to learn,” and feel safe, with leaders maintaining “high aspirations” that pupils consistently meet.

Strengths

• Leaders have prioritised English, mathematics, and science, resulting in teachers with “secure subject knowledge” and pupils making “good progress.”
• The reading programme is “effective,” helping pupils become “confident, fluent readers” who visit the library with “enthusiasm.”
• Behaviour is “good,” with “well-established routines” ensuring “little learning time is lost.”
• Early years provision is strong, with adults using resources well to support literacy and numeracy, helping children speak with “confidence.”
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” with staff receiving regular training and pupils taught how to keep themselves safe.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must support subject leaders in geography and history, where “variability in teachers’ subject knowledge” limits pupil progress due to insufficient training.
• SEND provision plans (“My Tracker”) are not “precise enough” to identify specific support needs, limiting pupils’ ability to overcome learning barriers.
• Leaders need to improve overall attendance, as some pupils are “absent from school too often,” missing key learning opportunities.

Safeguarding

The report states that “arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” with staff reporting concerns confidently and pupils feeling safe.