SCHOOL PROFILE

Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 136941
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 600 Published school capacity
Capacity used 82.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

2 July 2024
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Outstanding
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Barnsley
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 493 463 full-time · 30 part-time
Female pupils 240 48.7% of pupils
Male pupils 253 51.3% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

13.4%
11.4 pts below England
School 13.4%
Barnsley 29.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber 27.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

2.0%
18.3 pts below England
School 2.0%
Barnsley 8.6%
Yorkshire and The Humber 17.9%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Barnsley 0.3%
Yorkshire and The Humber 0.4%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
94.5%
466
Any other White background
1.2%
6
White and Black Caribbean
1.2%
6
Any other Mixed background
1.0%
5
White and Asian
0.8%
4
Any other ethnic group
0.4%
2
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.2% 85 of 493 pupils
3.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.2%
Barnsley 20.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber 20.9%
England 20.8%
SEN support 12.8% 63 pupils
England 14.8% 2.0 pts below
EHC plans 4.5% 22 pupils
England 6.0% 1.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 55
Social, emotional & mental health 25
Physical disability 3
Severe learning difficulty 1
Specific learning difficulty 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

74.0% 13.6 pts above England
School 74.0%
Barnsley 64.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber 60.2%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

88.0%

14.2 pts above England

School 88.0%
Barnsley 75.8%
Yorkshire and The Humber 72.8%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

78.0%

7.7 pts above England

School 78.0%
Barnsley 72.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber 70.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

92.0%

20.0 pts above England

School 92.0%
Barnsley 76.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber 71.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

3.43%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.79 pts lower than England
School 3.43%
Barnsley 6.02%
Yorkshire and The Humber 6.13%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

6.10%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

9.71 pts lower than England
School 6.10%
Barnsley 14.48%
Yorkshire and The Humber 15.55%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.94%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.86 pts lower than England
School 0.94%
Barnsley 1.88%
Yorkshire and The Humber 1.77%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

82.2% 6.0 pts below England
Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School
82.2%
Barnsley
97.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber
88.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information