Meadlands Primary School

Meadlands Primary School is performing well overall. Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum, with secure foundations in reading, writing and mathematics and Year 6 outcomes above national averages. Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well, often outperforming non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, and pupils with SEND make sustained progress while learning alongside their peers. Personal development and wellbeing are notable strengths, especially the school's focus on oracy, speech and drama, which builds confidence and ambitious vocabulary. Safeguarding standards are met. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, with a high priority on reading and phonics. Pupils behave well, feel safe and benefit from strong pastoral support. Attendance and persistent absence are close to national averages, but the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is slightly below national averages, although leaders are taking effective action and many pupils' attendance is improving. There are some inconsistencies in how quickly staff respond when pupils struggle or make errors, and early years staff do not always model ambitious vocabulary consistently. Leadership and governance are reflective and committed, and staff feel valued. Contextually, this is a small primary school of 225 pupils, with a new headteacher and two new co-chairs since the last inspection, and it uses one unregistered alternative provision.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum, with secure foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Year 6 national test outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are above national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well, often outperforming non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Pupils with SEND make sustained progress and learn alongside their peers in the same ambitious curriculum.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is extensive and carefully tailored to the school's context.
• Oracy, speech and drama are particular strengths, helping pupils speak confidently and use ambitious vocabulary.
• The RSHE curriculum is well sequenced and helps pupils stay safe online and offline and understand healthy relationships.
• Pupils behave with integrity, are polite, courteous and considerate, and bullying or discrimination is uncommon.
• Pastoral support is well matched to individual needs, including the calm cabin and wellbeing ambassadors.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, with a high priority on reading and phonics.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and adapt teaching for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Children get a settled start in the early years and benefit from warm relationships with staff and families.
• Leaders know pupils and families well, use additional funding effectively, and take staff workload and wellbeing seriously.
• Governors are knowledgeable and committed, providing appropriate support and challenge to leaders.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND participate highly in clubs, trips and residential visits.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not intervene quickly enough when pupils are struggling or making errors, which hampers learning.
• A few pupils continue to form letters with an incorrect pencil grip because they did not receive prompt support to correct it.
• Early years staff do not always model the ambitious vocabulary they want children to use, limiting children's vocabulary development.
• Very occasionally, staff do not adjust their approach quickly enough when a particular form of support is not working for a pupil, hindering learning.
• Attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is currently slightly below national averages, although it is improving.
• Leaders need to sustain their work to improve attendance so that more disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND attend regularly.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Meadlands Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Meadlands Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Meadlands Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.9% of pupils at Meadlands Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Meadlands Primary School received £8,002 and spent £8,144 for each of its 221 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £27,000 (£123 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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All schools in Richmond Upon Thames · Richmond upon Thames local authority: places and applications

What is Meadlands Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Meadlands Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Meadlands Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Meadlands Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Meadlands Primary School have?

Meadlands Primary School has 221 pupils on roll.

What age range does Meadlands Primary School cover?

Meadlands Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Meadlands Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 87% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Meadlands Primary School?

Meadlands Primary School is at Broughton Avenue, Ham, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 7TS.