Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School continues to be recognized as a good school. The atmosphere is welcoming and supportive, with a clear emphasis on safety, personal development, and academic achievement. Pupils express happiness and feel encouraged by staff to reach their aspirations. The school has a well-developed curriculum and is particularly strong in promoting reading and engagement in extracurricular activities. However, there have been significant changes in leadership and structure, and the school is actively working to communicate better with parents, especially concerning the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Strong curriculum development that ensures consistent knowledge building.
• Pupils have positive attitudes and enjoy their learning experiences.
• High-quality teaching with effective assessment practices.
• Strong promotion of reading and phonics across the school.
• Well-designed programs for personal development and citizenship education.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent support for pupils with SEND, leading to uneven achievement.
• Communication with parents regarding changes and pupil progress needs improvement.

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 Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.9% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Malcolm Arnold Preparatory 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 2022–23 Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School had 42.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2022–23, 33.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 18.4%).

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, 17.7% of pupils at Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School received £5,974 and spent £5,414 for each of its 413 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £419,000 (£1,015 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of The David Ross Education Trust, income was £8,189 and spending £8,020 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School is part of The David Ross Education Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Malcolm Arnold Academy Northampton
• Cedar Road Primary School Northampton
• Eastfield Academy Northampton
• Kings Heath Primary Academy Northampton
• The Arbours Primary Academy Northampton
• Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery Northampton
• Welton Church of England Academy Daventry
• Newnham Primary School Daventry
• Abbey CofE Academy Daventry
• Greenfields Primary School and Nursery Kettering

What is Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School last inspected by Ofsted?

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School have?

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School has 401 pupils on roll.

What age range does Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School cover?

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School?

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School is at Trinity Avenue, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN2 6JW.