Mablins Lane Community Primary School

Mablins Lane Community Primary is a happy, safe and nurturing school with warm relationships and a strong sense of community. Pupils behave well, are polite and confident, and trust staff to deal with bullying effectively. Leaders have high aspirations for all pupils, including those with SEND, and most pupils achieve well. The curriculum is broad and motivating, reading is a clear priority, and early years provision prepares children well for key stage 1. The school has responded to low key stage 2 writing outcomes by improving editing skills, and support for pupils with SEND is consistently strong. Attendance has improved through work with parents and external agencies, and pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, visits and responsibilities. Safeguarding is effective, and governors and staff are well supported. Inspectors identified two main areas for improvement. In a small number of subjects, curriculum organisation is less developed, so the sequence of learning is unclear and pupils develop gaps that hinder future learning. In a few subjects, assessment is not used precisely enough, meaning some errors and misconceptions are missed. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade was given under the current inspection framework.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and are nurtured in a happy, welcoming school community.
• Clear rules and routines support consistently sensible pupil behaviour.
• Pupils are enthusiastic, hard-working and take pride in their work.
• Pupils trust staff to deal effectively with bullying.
• Leaders have high aspirations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• The curriculum is broad and motivates pupils across most subjects.
• Early years provision is carefully designed and prepares children well for key stage 1.
• Reading is prioritised, with strong phonics teaching and effective support for pupils who need to keep up.
• The school has improved pupils’ editing skills and writing quality following low key stage 2 writing outcomes in 2024.
• Staff receive regular training, including comprehensive SEND professional development.
• Support for pupils with SEND is consistently well matched to their needs.
• Attendance and punctuality have improved for groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and enjoy a broad range of clubs and opportunities.
• Governors are passionate, well trained and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff feel supported by leaders in managing workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum organisation is less developed, so the sequence of learning is unclear and pupils develop gaps that hinder future learning.
• In a few subjects, assessment is not used consistently well, so some errors and misconceptions are missed and learning does not always build successfully over time.

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 Mablins Lane Community Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Mablins Lane Community 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 Mablins Lane Community Primary School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% 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, 20.6% of pupils at Mablins Lane Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Mablins Lane Community Primary School received £6,426 and spent £6,639 for each of its 611 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £155,000 (-£254 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 Crewe · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

What is Mablins Lane Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mablins Lane Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Mablins Lane Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mablins Lane Community Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Mablins Lane Community Primary School have?

Mablins Lane Community Primary School has 611 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mablins Lane Community Primary School cover?

Mablins Lane Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Mablins Lane Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mablins Lane Community Primary School?

Mablins Lane Community Primary School is at Mablins Lane, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 3YR.