The Merton Primary School

The Merton Primary School is a caring and orderly school where pupils feel safe, behave respectfully and are encouraged to be 'the best that they can be'. Inspectors found strong provision in reading, personal development and early years, with pupils benefiting from a broad curriculum, a wide range of clubs and trips, and positive relationships with staff. Most pupils achieve well, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of the Bradgate Education Partnership, and the headteacher took up post in August 2024. There are still areas to improve. In some subjects, teachers' strategies for helping pupils recall prior learning are not consistently effective, and assessment in a minority of subjects does not pinpoint gaps precisely. Pupils with SEND are not always well served because some targets are not clear enough, which can limit progress and make it harder for staff to adapt teaching. Leaders' oversight is also stronger in some areas than others; in a small number of areas they do not yet have the detailed information needed to evaluate what is working and drive improvement at pace. The report notes that pupils do not always recall their learning about different religions and cultures, although personal development is otherwise effective. Overall, the school has a solid foundation, positive relationships and effective support from the trust, but it needs sharper SEND target-setting and more robust evaluation of provision to secure further improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and behave calmly and respectfully around school.
• Staff have high expectations and most pupils achieve well.
• The curriculum sets out learning from early years to Year 6 and builds knowledge in most subjects.
• Reading is prioritised, with effective support for pupils who need extra help.
• Pupils enjoy reading events, author visits and book reviews.
• Personal development is effective, including online safety, health and British values.
• Pupils access a range of clubs, trips and residential visits.
• Early years children benefit from positive relationships and make friends quickly.
• Older pupils act as role models, including reading ambassadors supporting younger children.
• Trust leaders support staff development and cross-trust collaboration.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Strategies for helping pupils recall prior learning are sometimes not effective in some subjects.
• Assessment checks in a minority of subjects do not precisely identify gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Some targets for pupils with SEND are not clear enough to guide teaching and support progress.
• Leaders do not have detailed oversight in a small number of areas, slowing the pace of improvement.
• Some leaders new to their roles have not yet evaluated the effectiveness of their areas.
• Pupils do not always recall their learning about different religions and cultures.

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 The Merton Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.1% 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, 0.5% of pupils at The Merton 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 The Merton Primary School had 27.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.2% 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, 10.7% of pupils at The Merton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 The Merton Primary School received £6,286 and spent £6,676 for each of its 416 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £270,000 (£649 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Bradgate Education Partnership, income was £7,352 and spending £7,630 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 Leicester · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

The Merton Primary School is part of Bradgate Education Partnership, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• The Roundhill Academy Leicester
• The Pochin School Leicester
• Wreake Valley Academy Leicester
• Eastfield Primary School Leicester
• Church Hill Infant School Leicester
• Broomfield Community Primary School Leicester
• Highgate Primary School Loughborough
• Gaddesby Primary School Leicester
• Seagrave Village Primary School Loughborough
• Newtown Linford Primary School Leicester

What is The Merton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Merton Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was The Merton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Merton Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does The Merton Primary School have?

The Merton Primary School has 413 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Merton Primary School cover?

The Merton Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Merton Primary School?

The Merton Primary School is at Cherry Drive, Syston, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE7 2PT.