Ofsted & Performance
Ofsted
We are extremely proud to say that St John's is a GOOD school in all areas, as judged by Ofsted in May 2022. Please see the link at the bottom of this page to read the full report.
'Staff have high expectations of what pupils can and should achieve. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Pupils leave St John’s Church of England Primary School well prepared for the challenges of secondary school.' Ofsted 2022
Assessment
We view assessment as the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by pupils and their teachers to decide where pupils are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get them there. Much of what teachers and pupils do in classrooms can be described as assessment. That is, the tasks and questions used to prompt pupils to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a concept forms the basis of what is planned for next. If children are to progress, then learning needs to be tailored to their specific needs and this can only be achieved through considering what they already know and what the next suitable learning intention is.
Assessment at our school is designed to be:
- Day to day (Formative)-teachers will make observations of children’s work, annotate planning, design questioning to probe children’s understanding, talk to children 1 to 1 in the form of learning conversations and mark work in line with the Feedback policy.
- Periodic (Summative)-teachers will use a variety of assessment tools in Year 1 to Year 6 to keep records of individual pupils’ achievements based on day to day evidence and record if children are working at, above or below their age expectation at the end of the academic year.
- Each term class teachers meet with Senior Leaders to discuss their class in detail. In these meetings staff identify what children need to do next and any support that is needed.
- Transitional-at the end of the year, teachers will update their assessments to indicate final attainment data and key skills achieved by their cohort. This data will be formed from the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile scores, Year 2 and 6 tests and up to date assessments from Year 1 to 6. These results are also communicated to parents so that all parents know if their child is working at, above or below their age expectation in different areas of learning.
Understanding the New Ofsted Inspection Grades
From November 2025, Ofsted has changed the way it reports on school inspections. The aim is to give parents a clearer and fairer picture of how a school is doing, without relying on a single headline judgement.
What has changed?
In the past, schools were given one overall grade such as Outstanding or Good. These single-word judgements are no longer used. Instead, Ofsted now produces a report card that looks at several important areas of school life separately.
Each area is graded using a five-point scale, and inspectors explain their judgements in plain language so parents can understand a school’s strengths and areas for development.
The Five Ofsted Grades Explained
Here is what each of the new grades means, in simple terms:
Exceptional (used very rarely)
This is the highest and rarest grade in the new Ofsted framework. It is awarded to only a very small percentage of schools nationally.
An Exceptional judgement is reserved for schools that demonstrate sustained excellence over time, not just recent improvements. Practice must be consistently outstanding, deeply embedded, and having a transformational impact on pupils’ experiences and outcomes, including those who are disadvantaged or need additional support.
Ofsted has been clear that most schools will not receive this grade, even those providing a very strong or high-quality education. This is deliberate: the Exceptional grade is intended to recognise truly extraordinary provision, rather than being a benchmark that schools are expected to reach.
Strong Standard
This shows that practice is consistently strong and well-embedded. Pupils benefit from high-quality teaching, care and leadership, and the school is performing above what is normally expected.
Expected Standard
This means the school is doing what it should. It is meeting national expectations and statutory requirements, and pupils are receiving a good, secure education. Most schools are expected to be judged at this level or above.
Needs Attention
This grade means there are some weaknesses that the school needs to address. While many things may be working well, improvement is needed to make sure all pupils are supported as they should be. Ofsted expects schools to act quickly on these areas.
Urgent Improvement
This is used when there are serious concerns in an area of the school’s work. It means significant action is needed to improve outcomes for pupils, and Ofsted will follow up more closely.
What areas does Ofsted inspect?
Schools are now inspected across six main areas:
- Leadership and governance
- Curriculum and teaching
- Achievement
- Attendance and behaviour
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Inclusion
- Early Years
What about safeguarding?
Safeguarding is judged separately from the five grades. Schools are simply told whether safeguarding is “met” or “not met”. This reflects whether the school is doing everything required to keep children safe.
Why this is better for parents
Ofsted has designed the new system with parents in mind. Instead of a single label, the report card helps parents see:
- What the school does well
- Where it is improving
- What it is like to be a pupil at the school
National parent surveys showed that most parents find the new report cards easier to understand and more informative than the old system.
2025 St John’s Outcomes Table with National Figures
| Measure | St John's 2025 | National |
|
GLD – Good Level of Development |
68 | 68% |
Phonics Screening Check
| Measure | St John's 2025 | National |
|
Year 1 Phonics – Expected Standard |
61 | 80% |
|
Year 2 Phonics – Expected Standard |
89 | 89% |
Key Stage 1 (Year 2 SATs)
| Subject | Measure | St John's 2025 | National |
| Reading | Expected Standard | 71 | 68% |
| Reading | Greater Depth | 7 | 19% |
| Writing | Expected Standard | 50 | 60% |
| Writing | Greater Depth | 0 | 8% |
| Maths | Expected Standard | 75 | 70% |
| Maths | Greater Depth | 7 | 16% |
Year 4 Multiplication Times Table Check
| Measure | St John's 2025 | National |
|
Y4 Times Table Check Pupils scoring 25/25 |
71 | 37% |
| Average Score per child | 23.9 | 21 |
Key Stage 2 (Year 6 SATs)
| Subject / Combined | Measure | St John's 2025 | National |
|
Reading, Writing and Maths |
Maths Expected Standard | 52 | 62% |
| Reading | Expected Standard | 67 | 75% |
| Reading | Higher Standard | 22 | 29% |
| GPS | Expected Standard | 63 | 72% |
| GPS | Higher Standard | 0 | 30% |
| Writing | Expected Standard | 63 | 72% |
| Writing | Greater Depth | 0 | 13% |
| Maths | Expected Standard | 67 | 74% |
| Maths | Higher Standard | 11 | 24% |