St John's Church of England Primary School

About St John's Church of England Primary School

St John's Church of England Primary School sits within Sefton local authority, a mixed state primary for children aged 4 to 11. In the most recent local rankings, it placed 27th out of 59 primary schools in the borough, putting it just inside the top half. The top-performing peers in the area include St Thomas Church of England Primary School in Lydiate, St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School, and Shoreside Primary School, all of which scored higher on the same ranking metric. The school is one of 74 primary schools in Sefton, and the nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Rimrose Hope CofE Primary School, about 1.9 kilometres away. St John's itself holds a Good rating from its most recent graded inspection in 2017, and an ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed that the school remains Good. Leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness were all rated Good in the 2017 graded inspection.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 62% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is slightly above the Sefton local authority average of 59%. In reading, 69% reached the expected standard and 23% achieved a higher standard. For maths, 81% met the expected standard, though only 8% reached the higher standard. Average scores in both reading and maths were 103, in line with the national average. Writing saw 69% of pupils meeting the expected standard, with none reaching the higher standard. The school's ranking nationally places it in the bottom 50% of primary schools, at the 52nd percentile. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths were not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds compared with other schools.

The school is at full capacity with 196 pupils, and 23% are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. It was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 57 applications for 17 places and 16 first-preference offers. Facilities include a gymnasium, ICT suite, playing fields, outdoor playground, sensory room, library, sports hall, dining hall and a chapel. Sports on offer include netball, swimming, cricket, football, gymnastics, athletics and cross country, while clubs range from art and chess to choir, coding and film club. The school has a broad range of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families looking for a Church of England primary with strong SEND support and a full range of facilities, though it is academically in the middle of the pack locally.

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