Margaret McMillan Primary School

Margaret McMillan Primary School is performing well overall, with good judgements across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school is friendly, calm and nurturing, and pupils feel safe and behave well. Leaders have reviewed and revised the curriculum since the last inspection, and the school has a strong inclusive approach, particularly for pupils who speak English as an additional language and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Reading is a clear priority, phonics is taught well, and children in the early years benefit from rich, thoughtfully designed experiences. The main areas for improvement relate to assessment and writing. Teachers' checks on pupils' learning are not equally effective across all curriculum subjects, so leaders cannot be certain that every pupil is making the best possible progress in every subject. The teaching of handwriting, punctuation and grammar is also inconsistent, and some pupils' written work is affected by gaps in these skills. Persistent absence has been a challenge since the pandemic, but leaders are tackling it determinedly and attendance is improving. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, staff enjoy working at the school, and parents typically praise the school's friendly and professional approach.

Strengths

• Calm, nurturing and welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and behave well
• Ambitious and inclusive curriculum with a strong focus on language development
• Reading is a high priority, with well-taught phonics and a diverse library
• Strong early years provision with rich experiences and effective support for parents
• Pupils with SEND are identified and supported well, with adapted learning and suitable resources
• Personal development curriculum teaches safety, equality, liberty, diversity and health
• Wide range of enrichment activities, clubs, leadership roles and residential experiences
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff, with effective behaviour management
• Leaders, governors and trust work effectively, and staff welfare is considered
• Attendance is improving through determined work with families and external professionals
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on pupils' learning are less developed in some curriculum subjects, so leaders cannot be certain all pupils make the best possible progress
• Teaching of handwriting, punctuation and grammar is inconsistent, and errors are sometimes not corrected
• Pupils in the early stages of writing are not consistently taught correct pencil grip and legible handwriting
• Persistent absence remains a challenge, although rates are improving

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 Margaret McMillan Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.5% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Margaret McMillan 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 Margaret McMillan Primary School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 18.6% of pupils at Margaret McMillan Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 Margaret McMillan Primary School received £6,529 and spent £6,453 for each of its 576 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £643,000 (£1,117 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Priestley Academy Trust, income was £7,302 and spending £7,124 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.

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All schools in Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Margaret McMillan Primary School is part of The Priestley Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Lilycroft Primary School Bradford
• Westbourne Primary School Bradford
• Miriam Lord Primary School Bradford
• Atlas Community Primary School Bradford
• Green Lane Primary School Bradford

What is Margaret McMillan Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Margaret McMillan Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Margaret McMillan Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Margaret McMillan Primary School have?

Margaret McMillan Primary School has 553 pupils on roll.

What age range does Margaret McMillan Primary School cover?

Margaret McMillan Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Margaret McMillan Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Margaret McMillan Primary School?

Margaret McMillan Primary School is at Scotchman Road, Heaton, Margaret McMillan Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 5DF.