Middlemarch School

Middlemarch School is a good school overall, with all four key judgements—quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management—judged good at this graded inspection. It is an inclusive junior school with a specialist unit for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder, and it serves a pupil population that joins at different points and from diverse backgrounds. Inspectors found a warm, vibrant community where pupils settle quickly, behave well, respect one another and benefit from a broad curriculum and a wide range of activities. The school works effectively to identify gaps in pupils' prior knowledge and to support SEND and EAL pupils, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils make good progress and learn well, although published outcomes do not match national averages. Reading support is a particular strength: many pupils join at early stages of reading, and the school meets its aim of helping Year 3 joiners become fluent readers by the end of Year 4, though not all pupils meet national reading expectations by Year 6. Most pupils attend well and attitudes to learning are positive, but attendance remains a concern for some pupils, and the school is working with the local authority to challenge low attendance. In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the essential knowledge pupils should learn, which limits how effectively teachers teach and check understanding. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic's impact into account.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture that warmly welcomes pupils joining at different times and from diverse backgrounds
• Buddy system helps new pupils settle quickly and feel part of the school
• Broad curriculum with effective support for pupils who have gaps in prior knowledge
• Clear knowledge sequencing in most subjects, helping pupils build understanding over time
• Effective teacher explanations, demonstrations and well-chosen resources
• Strong adaptation for pupils with SEND and effective strategies for EAL pupils
• Phonics support helps many pupils become fluent readers, including the Year 3 to Year 4 goal
• Pupils show respect, care and positive attitudes to learning in typically calm lessons
• A wide range of lunchtime and after-school activities, from coding club to forest school
• Personal development prepares pupils for life in modern Britain, including British values
• Staff feel supported, and governance promotes staff development and well-being
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, essential knowledge is not identified clearly enough, limiting teaching and checks on pupils' understanding
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough, which limits their learning
• Published outcomes do not match national averages, and not all pupils meet national reading expectations by Year 6

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 Middlemarch School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.5% 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, 7.4% of pupils at Middlemarch School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Middlemarch School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 18.6% of pupils at Middlemarch School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 7 pupils.

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 Middlemarch School received £10,915 and spent £11,861 for each of its 156 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £108,000 (£692 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 Nuneaton · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

What is Middlemarch School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Middlemarch School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Middlemarch School last inspected by Ofsted?

Middlemarch School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Middlemarch School have?

Middlemarch School has 156 pupils on roll.

What age range does Middlemarch School cover?

Middlemarch School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Middlemarch School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 29% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Middlemarch School?

Middlemarch School is at College Street, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 7BQ.