St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery
Laund Nook, Belper, DE56 1GY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Mieke Carvell
- Diocese
- Diocese of Derby
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Mid Derbyshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 490
- Pupils on roll
- 398
- URN
- 112875
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01773822995
About this school
St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Belper. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 398 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 70 | 66 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 71% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 14% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 77% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 83% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 86% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61% | 58.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 428 |
| 2023/24 | 407 |
| 2024/25 | 396 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery compares
St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery ranked 160th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 3.1% | 17.1% | 398 | — |
| Pottery Primary School | 23% | 4.6% | 25.2% | 285 | 0.4 miles |
| St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy | 67% | 4.2% | 11.1% | 167 | 0.5 miles |
| Long Row Primary School | 55% | 3.7% | 20% | 264 | 0.6 miles |
| Herbert Strutt Primary School | 71% | 5% | 41.7% | 178 | 0.9 miles |
| Heage Primary School | — | — | — | — | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.09%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.14%
- Persistent absence
- 3.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pottery Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Belper
-
St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Belper
-
Long Row Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Belper
-
Herbert Strutt Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Belper
-
Heage Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Belper
Other schools in Belper
St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery ranks 11th of the 13 ranked primary schools in Belper.
- Ambergate Primary School Primary
- Duffield the Meadows Primary School Primary
- Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Heage Primary School Primary
- Herbert Strutt Primary School Primary
- Holbrook Church of England Primary School Primary
- Kilburn Junior School Primary
- Long Row Primary School Primary
- Milford Primary School Primary
- Pottery Primary School Primary
- St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- Turnditch Church of England Primary School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
Previous headteacher: Mr Roger Averis (until July 2026).
- Headteacher changed from Mr Roger Averis to Mr Mieke Carvell recorded 28 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery teach?
- St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Belper.
- Who is the headteacher of St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery is Mr Mieke Carvell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery?
- St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery has 398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery full?
- St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 490 pupils and 398 on roll (81%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- Yes. St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Derby.
- Does St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery rank locally?
- St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery ranked 160th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 3.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John's CofE Primary School and Nursery's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 28 July 2026.