St John's Church of England Middle School Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 October 2023

This is a happy and welcoming school where its values of forgiveness, love, integrity and perseverance are lived on a daily basis by pupils and adults. Staff know pupils well and support them to thrive thanks to the very strong culture of mutual respect. This is lived in interactions throughout the school, both between adults and pupils, but also between the pupils themselves. Pupils are supported to achieve well both in their learning, and also in the extensive and high-quality offer of clubs, trips and wider opportunities. Leaders are rightly proud of these as an integral part of the school's offer to its pupils. Pupils thoroughly enjoy these opportunities and relish the many leadership positions which the school provides for them. Pupils are very clear about the role they have in leading in the school and improving the provision. Leaders' high expectations for all pupils is reflected in a high-quality curriculum which is subject to regular and incisive review and leaders are aware of where they need to continue to make improvements to the curriculum. Leaders and teachers work well together to ensure that the provision at St John's continues to improve.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum design and/or selection of learning activities are not as effective as others. This means that pupils do not securely build on their knowledge and skills as well as they might. The school should ensure that the curriculum in these subjects is coherently planned and delivered so that pupils deepen their learning over time in all subjects.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)