Great Malvern Primary School

Great Malvern Primary School is a friendly, orderly school where pupils behave well and relationships are strong. Inspectors found that standards have fallen since the previous inspection and that the quality of education, leadership and early years provision are not yet good enough, although recently appointed leaders have introduced effective strategies that are beginning to improve pupils’ learning. The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, but these expectations are not yet consistently realised. Pupils enjoy a broad curriculum and a wide range of enriching activities, and personal development is a clear strength. Reading has been made a priority and phonics teaching is generally effective, especially in key stage 1. Safeguarding is effective, and pupils are well prepared for their next steps. Key concerns include inconsistent curriculum design in some subjects, assessment that is not used well enough to address gaps, and inconsistent support for pupils with SEND. Early years provision is not structured precisely enough, and some outdoor learning spaces are underdeveloped. The trust is now driving improvement but does not yet check systematically enough what is working.

Strengths

• Pupils are welcoming, friendly and keen to learn.
• Warm, respectful relationships between adults and pupils are commonplace.
• Pupils behave well and the school is calm and orderly.
• Pupils benefit from an extensive range of trips, clubs, visits and competitions.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and covers a wide range of subjects.
• Reading is a priority and phonics teaching is generally effective in key stage 1.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge to support curriculum delivery.
• Support for pupils with SEND is improving and staff identify needs more clearly.
• Pupils learn about life in modern Britain and are well prepared for their next steps.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils’ outcomes in national curriculum tests have declined over the last two years.
• The curriculum is not consistently well sequenced in non-core subjects.
• Some subject leaders lack the skills and expertise to improve and monitor their curriculums.
• Assessment is not used consistently, so teachers do not always identify or address gaps and misconceptions.
• Support for pupils with SEND is inconsistent; some staff lack knowledge and sometimes do work for pupils.
• Older key stage 2 pupils who need further phonics support are not effectively supported.
• The early years curriculum does not clearly set out what children should learn, so some children are busy without learning.
• Some early years outdoor spaces are not well developed to support learning.
• The trust has been slow to address shortcomings and does not yet have routine systems to check the impact of changes.

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 Great Malvern Primary School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Great Malvern 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 Great Malvern Primary School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.2% 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, 21.5% of pupils at Great Malvern Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.5% 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 2024–25 Great Malvern Primary School received £7,990 and spent £7,708 for each of its 331 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £301,000 (£910 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Mercian Educational Trust, income was £8,043 and spending £8,242 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Malvern · Worcestershire local authority: places and applications

Great Malvern Primary School is part of Mercian Educational Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Beacon View Primary School Malvern
• Somers Park Primary School Malvern
• Northleigh CofE Primary School Malvern
• Leigh and Bransford Primary School Malvern
• Honeywell Primary School Worcester
• The Brookfield School Hereford

What is Great Malvern Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Malvern Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Great Malvern Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Malvern Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Great Malvern Primary School have?

Great Malvern Primary School has 325 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Malvern Primary School cover?

Great Malvern Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

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

Where is Great Malvern Primary School?

Great Malvern Primary School is at Lydes Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 2BY.