Melbourn Primary School

Melbourn Primary School demonstrates a strong standard of education, achieving overall progress in multiple areas. The school has effectively fostered a culture of safeguarding and has received high marks for its curriculum delivery and pupil development. Notably, the establishment focuses on supporting disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, with leaders proactively addressing varying needs and ensuring most pupils advance towards national expectations in their learning. Despite this, the school faces challenges, especially regarding the performance gaps for disadvantaged students, which leaders are diligently working to improve.

Strengths

• Strong safeguarding culture ensuring pupil safety and well-being.
• Effective early years curriculum promoting phonics and vocabulary development.
• High levels of pupil engagement and enthusiasm for learning.
• Well-established relationships with families to support attendance and behaviour.
• Broad curriculum offering that allows pupils to develop essential skills.
• Proactive leadership that responds effectively to changing pupil needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils are not achieving as well as expected in several areas.
• Inconsistent progress for some pupils across the curriculum.

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 Melbourn Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.3% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Melbourn 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 Melbourn Primary School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.7% 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, 21.8% of pupils at Melbourn 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 Melbourn Primary School received £7,469 and spent £7,457 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £73,000 (£205 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 Royston · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

What is Melbourn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Melbourn Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Melbourn Primary School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does Melbourn Primary School have?

Melbourn Primary School has 357 pupils on roll.

What age range does Melbourn Primary School cover?

Melbourn Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Melbourn Primary School?

Melbourn Primary School is at Mortlock Street, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6DB.