St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is a warm, caring and happy school where pupils are well known and valued, behave well and take part enthusiastically in leadership roles, fundraising, trips, clubs and musical performances. Inspectors found good behaviour and personal development, effective safeguarding and a well-structured phonics programme; most pupils develop reading, writing and mathematics skills, and children in the early years build secure foundations in number and reading. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision require improvement. The curriculum is ambitious on paper but not delivered consistently: in some subjects teaching is not informed by a carefully considered curriculum, and checks on understanding and adaptation of activities are inconsistent. The main concern is special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND): needs are not identified precisely enough, provision is not consistently matched, and learning is often not adapted, so pupils with SEND can miss learning and wait for help. Early years wider curriculum planning is not incremental enough, and leaders and governance do not yet have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and development areas. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first since 2013, when it was exempt as outstanding; under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. The school has notable strengths in behaviour, personal development, reading and phonics, and enrichment, but must improve SEND identification and adaptation, early years curriculum planning and subject-level curriculum coherence.

Strengths

• Happy, caring and welcoming school where pupils feel valued and well known
• Pupils behave well, are polite and respectful, and meet high expectations
• Strong personal development through leadership roles, fundraising, trips, clubs and performances
• Well-structured phonics teaching with daily routines and timely catch-up support
• Most pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Staff feel well supported by leaders
• Early years children build secure foundations in number and reading
• Pupils understand online safety and positive values such as kindness and equality

Areas for Improvement

• SEND needs are not identified accurately or systematically
• Provision for pupils with SEND is not consistently matched to their needs
• Learning is not sufficiently adapted for pupils with SEND, who can miss learning time
• Early years wider curriculum is not planned incrementally enough
• In some subjects, teaching is not informed by a carefully considered curriculum
• Pupils do not always build and remember knowledge coherently across subjects
• Teachers do not consistently check understanding or match activities to pupils’ learning
• Leaders and governance do not have an accurate understanding of strengths and development areas
• Curriculum ambition is not achieved consistently across the school

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 St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.0% 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 St Mary Magdalene Catholic 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 St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.5% 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, 8.4% of pupils at St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School received £6,908 and spent £7,368 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £147,000 (£411 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Milton Keynes · Milton Keynes local authority: places and applications

What is St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School have?

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School has 357 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School cover?

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School?

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is at Ardwell Lane, Greenleys, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK12 6AY.