Loughton School

Loughton School is a happy, orderly and inclusive junior school where pupils feel safe, behave extremely well and benefit from high expectations, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Inspectors found a broad, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum, strong teaching of reading and phonics, effective support for pupils with SEND, good attendance systems and a wide programme of personal development and enrichment. Safeguarding is effective, staff are well supported, and parents are largely positive about the school. The main area for improvement is assessment in some wider curriculum subjects. Checks on pupils’ understanding are not consistently systematic, and the information gathered is not always used well enough to adapt teaching, identify misconceptions or build on prior knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not secure and deepen knowledge, skills and vocabulary as securely as they could before moving on to more complex learning. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains a single academy trust. The report does not give an overall effectiveness grade under the current inspection framework, but the findings across the key areas are largely positive.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave extremely well.
• The school has high expectations for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, engaging and carefully sequenced across subjects.
• Teaching of reading and phonics is strong, and pupils who struggle are well supported.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.
• Pupils move around school calmly and show positive attitudes to learning.
• Attendance systems are effective and pupils attend regularly and on time.
• Personal development is enriched through trips, leadership roles, visitors and PSHE discussions.
• Pupils have strong inclusive values and celebrate different cultures and faiths.
• Staff are happy, well supported and benefit from regular professional development.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment in some wider curriculum subjects is not systematic and is not consistently used to inform teaching.
• Teaching does not consistently build on prior knowledge or identify misconceptions and gaps in some subjects.
• Some pupils do not build or deepen knowledge, skills and vocabulary as securely as they could.

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 Loughton School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Loughton 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 Loughton School had 22.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.1% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Loughton School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Loughton School received £5,658 and spent £5,398 for each of its 477 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £484,000 (£1,015 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Alliance Schools Trust, income was £7,436 and spending £7,455 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 Milton Keynes · Milton Keynes local authority: places and applications

Loughton School is part of The Alliance Schools Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Denbigh School Milton Keynes
• Watling Academy Milton Keynes
• Watling Primary School Milton Keynes
• Brooksward School Milton Keynes
• Willen Primary School Milton Keynes
• Drayton Park School Milton Keynes

What is Loughton School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Loughton School last inspected by Ofsted?

Loughton School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Loughton School have?

Loughton School has 466 pupils on roll.

What age range does Loughton School cover?

Loughton School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Loughton School?

Loughton School is at Bradwell Road, Loughton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK5 8DN.