What did Ofsted judge Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School's overall effectiveness to be?

Ofsted judged Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School's overall effectiveness as Good at its inspection in July 2024, on Ofsted's own scale.

How many pupils attend Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School has 493 pupils on roll.

What ages does Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School take?

Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School admits pupils aged 3 to 11.

How do I apply to Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School is a state school. In England you apply through the council where you live, using its common application form, even if the school is in another council area. The national closing date for primary places is 15 January.

Does Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School have a religious character?

Yes — Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School has a religious character of Church of England. Faith criteria may apply to admissions; check the school's oversubscription policy for details.

How are Reception places decided at Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School?

When Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School has more applications than places for 2026-27, they are offered in a published order of priority: 1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children — Highest priority will be given to looked-after children and all previously looked-after children who apply for a place at the school. (A child who is looked after by the Local Authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989); 2. Special medical or social circumstances — Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school. This is not about educational needs. (Supporting evidence from a professionally qualified person such as a medical doctor, psychologist, social worker is essential if admission is to be made under this criterion and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why this school is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school); 3. Siblings at the school — Priority will next be given to children with siblings at the school. Siblings include step siblings, foster siblings, adopted siblings and other children living permanently at the same address. Priority will not be given to children with siblings who are former pupils of the school, and 3 further criteria. 51 places were offered at this entry point for 2026-27. Tie-break: In the case of 2 or more applications that cannot be separated by the oversubscription criteria outlined above, the school will use the distance between the school and a child's home as a tie breaker to decide between applicants. Priority will be given to children who live closest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child's home address to the school's front gates (F2-Y2 child Infant Site, Y3-Y6 child Junior site). A child's home address will be considered to be where he/she is resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week. Where the distance between 2 children's homes and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them.

What is the largest ethnic background at Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School?

According to the DfE School Census 2025-26, 94.5% of pupils at Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School are recorded as White British. The full ethnic breakdown across all groups is available on the Pupils tab.

Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School

How places are decided at Penistone St John's Voluntary Aided Primary School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Reception), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1Looked-after and previously looked-after children — Highest priority will be given to looked-after children and all previously looked-after children who apply for a place at the school. (A child who is looked after by the Local Authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989)
2Special medical or social circumstances — Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school. This is not about educational needs. (Supporting evidence from a professionally qualified person such as a medical doctor, psychologist, social worker is essential if admission is to be made under this criterion and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why this school is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school)
3Siblings at the school — Priority will next be given to children with siblings at the school. Siblings include step siblings, foster siblings, adopted siblings and other children living permanently at the same address. Priority will not be given to children with siblings who are former pupils of the school.
4Christian commitment — Children whose parents/carers regularly attend the parish church of Penistone St John's. A 'Supplementary Information Form' (SIF) to provide confirmation of Christian commitment is available from Barnsley Admissions. The form should be signed by the Vicar, Rector, Priest in Charge, etc. During an interregnum the form should be signed by a Churchwarden.
5Children of staff — Children of staff of the school
6All other children — All other children. Where the offer of a remaining place in the relevant year group could be made for a number of eligible children resident equi-distant from the school the determination of the single offer will be by Random Allocation, which will be independently supervised by a representative of the Council Governance Department.

If two applications tie: In the case of 2 or more applications that cannot be separated by the oversubscription criteria outlined above, the school will use the distance between the school and a child's home as a tie breaker to decide between applicants. Priority will be given to children who live closest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child's home address to the school's front gates (F2-Y2 child Infant Site, Y3-Y6 child Junior site). A child's home address will be considered to be where he/she is resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week. Where the distance between 2 children's homes and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them.

All children whose education, health and care (EHC) plans name the school will be admitted before any other places are allocated. If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place. Applicants under Christian Commitment Criteria must complete a School's Information Form (SIF) and attach it with their common application form.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.