John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery
Lancaster Way, Braintree, CM7 5UL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Waters
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Braintree
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 501
- URN
- 114818
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01376321814
About this school
John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery is a community primary school in Braintree. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 501 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 February 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 73 | 84 | 69 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 48% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 63% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 64% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 67% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.20 | - | - |
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 John Bunyan 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 550 |
| 2023/24 | 541 |
| 2024/25 | 545 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery compares
John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery ranked 286th of 388 primary schools in Essex 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 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 7.5% | 44.5% | 501 | — |
| St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree | 83% | 3.3% | 9.1% | 203 | 0.2 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 52% | 4.1% | 22% | 387 | 0.6 miles |
| Great Bradfords Junior School | 56% | 5.9% | 37.1% | 326 | 0.9 miles |
| Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.6% | 25.9% | 269 | 0.9 miles |
| John Ray Junior School | 62% | 5.5% | 27.8% | 439 | 1.3 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)
- 44.51%
- English as an additional language
- 16.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.46%
- Persistent absence
- 23.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree0.2 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
Great Bradfords Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School0.9 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
John Ray Junior School1.3 miles
Primary · Braintree
Other schools in Braintree
John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery ranks 12th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Braintree.
- Beckers Green Primary School Primary
- Bocking Primary School Primary
- Cressing Primary School Primary
- Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Great Bardfield Primary School Primary
- Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Great Bradfords Junior School Primary
- John Ray Infant School Primary
- John Ray Junior School Primary
- Lyons Hall School Primary
- Notley Green Primary School Primary
- Rayne Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery teach?
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Braintree.
- Who is the headteacher of John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery is Mrs Lisa Waters, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Bunyan 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 many pupils are at John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery?
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery has 501 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery full?
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 630 pupils and 501 on roll (80%), 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 John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% 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 John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery compare with other schools in Essex?
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery ranked 286th of 388 primary schools in Essex 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 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Bunyan 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 30 June 2026.