Schools & FE · Report card

St John's CofE Primary School

Inspected 24 Mar 2026 · published 8 Jun 2026 · URN 144289

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Nathan Lowe (lead), Stephanie Wilcox, Susan Sutton

What we read, and from where

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Achievement verified
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Early years verified
Expected standard
Inclusion verified
Expected standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
24 Mar 2026
Inspectors verified
Nathan Lowe, Stephanie Wilcox, Susan Sutton
Postcode verified
PE29 7LA
Name on report verified
St John's CofE Primary School
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
144289

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Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementExpected
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
Early yearsExpected
InclusionExpected
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+80Very positivemore positive than 65% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisevery welleffectivehigh expectationspositivesuccessfulenjoyhigh-qualityhighly effective

Criticismconcernstoo manymissederrorsnot consistentlynot precise

How the report reads, start to finish

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FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1534w+79
Leadership217w+83
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve65w+66

Strengths

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Concerns

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In the past, too many pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities missed too much school. p.2

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 15
Words of findings: 1,867; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Fairly hard; Flesch 53, typical 43
Average sentence: 14 words
Next steps: 3; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 2%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 53%Leadership 8%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 35%

Full report text

St John's CofE Primary School

Address: Sallowbush Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 7LA Unique reference number (URN): 144289

p.1

Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

p.1

Achievement Expected standard

Pupils learn and achieve well. They progress through the curriculum well, remembering much of what they have been taught. Younger pupils secure their knowledge of phonics, mathematics and writing skills, which helps them as they move through the school. By the end of Year 6, pupils achieve standards which are close to the national averages in end of key stage 2 assessments. Over time, disadvantaged pupils have achieved better than the same group nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn well from their varied starting points. They, too, develop the important knowledge and skills they need to be ready for the next stage of their education. Children in the Reception classes are well prepared for their move to Year 1. On the whole, they have the academic and social skills they need to be successful in their next stage of learning.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations around pupils’ attendance. They expect pupils to attend regularly, which they do. Leaders keep a close eye on attendance. If a pupil’s attendance starts to drop, staff follow this up quickly. This work is effective at getting attendance back on track. In the past, too many pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities missed too much school. This is no longer the case. As a result of leaders’ rigorous and supportive actions, the attendance of these pupils is now back to where it should be.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school is a calm and purposeful place for pupils to learn and socialise together. Pupils recognise and value the high expectations that leaders and staff set around their behaviour. These expectations are consistent across the school and generally realised in classrooms. This includes during social times, where, in the dinner hall and playground, the same positive behaviour is seen from pupils. Bullying is almost unheard of. However, pupils are fully reassured that if they have friendship problems staff will always help them resolve issues that arise. The pupils who are selected as peer mediators play an important role in helping pupils resolve minor issues in the playground well.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have put in place an ambitious and coherent curriculum across the school. This clearly sets out the important knowledge pupils need to know and remember and by when. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths in teaching. They also know where more work is needed to further improve teaching. They take the right actions at the right time. For example, leaders’ recent work to enhance teaching approaches that help pupils develop their reasoning skills in mathematics is proving successful.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers have suitable knowledge in the subjects they teach. They provide clear explanations to pupils when introducing new concepts or ideas and generally check if pupils remember what has been taught. However, at times some pupils’ misconceptions are not identified consistently well. At times, some next step targets for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not as precise as they could be. Leaders are addressing this. However, there is more work to be done to ensure consistency in the practice of all teachers.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders’ sharp focus on helping pupils secure the important foundations of reading, writing and mathematics is generally well established. Pupils who need more help to catch up receive useful support. This includes pupils with SEND, who benefit from teachers making careful adjustments to the tasks they carry out.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

Children settle well in the Reception Year. They learn the routines of the classroom. This can be seen in the way they share, take turns and work together. Children enjoy the warm and caring interactions they have with staff. Not only do these interactions help children feel well cared for and safe, but they also ensure children are helped to develop the important vocabulary and language they need to be successful, for example using the language of ‘full, half full and empty’ in water play and when applying their phonics skills to writing activities.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

As children find their feet in Reception, they develop their own independence quickly. They look after equipment and their classrooms with pride. Children become increasingly resilient when faced with challenges in their learning or play. Children learn to read well. Stories, rhymes and poems are in abundance, and the well-taught phonics programme helps children ready themselves for Year 1 as confident readers. Those pupils who need additional help with reading receive well-tailored support. This helps them to catch up, and crack the phonics code. Staff work well with parents and carers to help them understand the work of the school and how their children will learn.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

There is a well-established culture of inclusion across the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the right support at the right time. Staff make careful use of assessment, provide targeted interventions and make timely checks on the progress of pupils with SEND. This helps staff to tailor support to the needs of each pupil. Positive relationships with parents, carers and external agencies ensure that the provision for pupils with SEND is shaped around their individual needs. This has a positive impact on their learning and school experience.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Disadvantaged pupils, and pupils who are known to social care, receive high-quality care and support. Over time, disadvantaged pupils fare very well academically by the end of their time here. Leaders' use of the pupil premium funding supports this and helps disadvantaged pupils to achieve well. Furthermore, leaders ensure that staff are well trained to help pupils overcome barriers to their learning effectively. Young carers are supported well. Leaders ensure that they have the opportunity to access pastoral and wellbeing provision in a supportive environment.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a sharp and accurate understanding of the school’s context, what is working well and where further improvement is needed. They demonstrate a detailed understanding of school improvement, taking the right actions, in the right order, at the right time.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff's wellbeing and workload are carefully managed. Staff receive effective support from leaders to help them carry out their roles well. This includes teachers new to the profession at the very start of their teaching career. Staff receive effective professional learning opportunities. Whether through the trust, leaders in school or external providers, this professional learning supports a more consistent approach to teaching across the school.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Trustees carry out their statutory duties effectively. They remain strategic in their work. While they provide effective support for leaders, they do not shy away from asking challenging questions to ensure the school goes from strength to strength. Trustees receive useful information from leaders. They challenge and check to make sure all is well. There are effective connections and communication between trustees, trust leaders and school leaders. This helps to ensure that strategic decisions are taken carefully and with the best interests of pupils at the heart of any changes.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders foster very positive relationships with parents and carers. Parents appreciate the care, guidance and support provided to pupils in school.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school’s personal development offer is broad and purposeful. It is designed to raise aspirations, build character and prepare pupils for life beyond school. It benefits all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. The personal, social and health education curriculum revises key concepts each year. Leaders make thoughtful adaptations and additions in response to emerging issues. Relationships education and helping pupils to consider the impact of artificial intelligence are examples of this. Pupils also develop an understanding of people who come from different backgrounds or have different religious beliefs to themselves. This helps pupils to build a secure understanding of themselves and develop respect for others.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn a range of strategies to help promote their own wellbeing and to stay healthy. Where pupils need further support, much is provided through mentoring or counselling. Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities to take on leadership and service roles. Those who sit on the student parliament are proud to do this. They make real changes to the school community, such as securing funding for new play equipment.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils have a clear view of right and wrong. They display a well-developed moral code. Pupils are clear that they will not be a bystander if they see wrongdoing in school. Pupils have a secure understanding of how to stay safe. They have an age-appropriate understanding of risks they face now and as they grow older.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

While the offer in terms of clubs is growing, pupils enjoy attending what is on offer. Clubs are widely attended, providing the chance for pupils to explore interests, develop new skills and enjoy time with friends. Together, these broad experiences help to develop confident, socially aware and well-rounded young people who are well readied for their life in wider society.

p.4