Merton Junior School

Merton Junior School is a friendly, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, behave well and attend regularly. Attendance is above national averages, safeguarding standards are met, and leadership and governance are effective: leaders have a clear improvement agenda, staff morale is high, and governors provide strong support and challenge. Personal development and pastoral care are notable strengths, with a broad programme, effective wellbeing support and good opportunities for pupil leadership. However, pupils' achievement is not good enough. Reading and mathematics attainment has been significantly below national averages over time, and teaching is inconsistent across classes and year groups, partly because of recent staffing changes. Some staff do not secure basic skills, use assessment precisely or teach phonics well enough, so pupils—including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities—make uneven progress and do not build deep knowledge. Inclusion is not yet fully embedded. Personalised plans for pupils with SEND lack rigour, adaptations often do not reduce barriers, and pupil premium strategies are not implemented consistently. Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is less secure. Leaders recognise these issues and have suitable plans in place, but improvement is still needed in curriculum implementation and outcomes.

Strengths

• Attendance is above national averages, supported by robust systems and thoughtful family support.
• Pupils behave well, playground behaviour is especially positive, and bullying is rare.
• Staff build trusting relationships and pre-empt behaviour by understanding pupils' triggers and wellbeing needs.
• Leaders make the right decisions in the right order, with clear priorities and high staff morale.
• Governors are committed, knowledgeable and hold leaders to account effectively.
• Personal development and pastoral care are strengths, with a comprehensive programme and effective wellbeing support.
• Pupils have many leadership opportunities and a good understanding of democracy.
• The curriculum is broad and engaging, with sequenced key content.
• Relationships with parents are generally positive, and leaders work well with external agencies.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Pupils feel safe and cared for, and enjoy clubs and residential opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in reading and mathematics has been significantly below national averages for too long.
• Teaching is inconsistent across classes and year groups, partly because of recent staffing changes.
• Some staff do not prioritise basic skills or use starting points and precise checks well enough.
• Pupils often remember activities rather than developing broad, deep knowledge.
• Phonics teaching is not precise enough, leaving some pupils struggling to read and access the curriculum.
• Inclusion is not fully developed, and pupils with SEND do not always have their academic needs met.
• Personalised plans for pupils with SEND lack rigour and measurable targets.
• Adaptations to learning tasks do not reduce barriers enough for pupils with SEND.
• Pupil premium strategies are not implemented well enough in teaching.
• Pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values is less secure.
• Staff occasionally do not notice distracted or chatty pupils quickly enough where teaching is less effective.
• Disadvantaged pupils' combined outcomes remain below national averages 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 Merton Junior School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.6% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Merton Junior 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 Merton Junior School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.3% 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, 29.4% of pupils at Merton Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.8% 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 Merton Junior School received £7,567 and spent £7,817 for each of its 245 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £525,000 (£2,142 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 Basingstoke · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Merton Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Merton Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Merton Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Merton Junior School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Merton Junior School have?

Merton Junior School has 245 pupils on roll.

What age range does Merton Junior School cover?

Merton Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Merton Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Merton Junior School?

Merton Junior School is at Romsey Close, Popley Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9HB.