Melbourne Junior School, Derby
Melbourne Junior School is a primary school for pupils aged 7 to 11 in Derby. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 21st-highest of the 86 schools in Derby with published results, and 3,885th of 14,452 across England. It was 84% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Capacity
- 84% full
- Attendance
- In line with England
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Melbourne Junior School in detail
Melbourne Junior School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "I have great pleasure in welcoming you to Melbourne Junior School. Melbourne Junior School is a medium-sized junior school, with two classes in each year group. We have a dedicated team of staff and governors who are committed to providing our children with a safe and happy environment in which they can thrive."
The school runs after-school care until 5:30pm.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 85% of Year 6 pupils at Melbourne Junior School reached the expected standard in reading and 83% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 73% in Derbyshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 67% in reading and 69% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Melbourne Junior School
Across Derbyshire, 95% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Derbyshire lodged 161 appeals against primary school offers; 108 reached a hearing and 13 succeeded (12% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Melbourne Junior School are Melbourne Infant & Nursery School (under 0.1 miles, Good); Weston-on-Trent CofE (VA) Primary School (1.8 miles, Good, 74% reading, 58% maths); St Hardulph's Church of England Primary School (2 miles, Good, 75% reading, 50% maths); and Chellaston Fields Spencer Academy (2.4 miles, Good).
Melbourne Junior School's 2025 results were higher than all 2 of them.
Melbourne Infant & Nursery SchoolWeston-on-Trent CofE (VA) Primary SchoolSt Hardulph's Church of England Primary SchoolChellaston Fields Spencer Academy
Who goes there
15.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Melbourne Junior School.
17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Primary School (adjacent), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Melbourne Junior School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 11 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Derbyshire (50).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Melbourne Junior School issued 2 suspensions, 0.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are happy and safe at this vibrant and ambitious school.
Pupils are motivated to learn and achieve well. Their high-quality work is displayed proudly along corridors and in writing portfolios to celebrate their successes.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school's curriculum is well sequenced and carefully organised. This allows pupils to build on their existing knowledge and make meaningful links between subjects. In history, for example, pupils relate their learning about the Windrush to their study of equality. In geography, they use their mathematical skills to measure the velocity of a river and draw a profile of its channel. These curriculum connections help to stretch pupils' thinking.
Teachers make effective use of 'key learning' prompts to introduce new knowledge. Pupils' annotations of these prompts help them to remember important information. Clear explanations of subject-specific vocabulary mean that pupils use these terms accurately. Teachers provide useful examples for pupils to follow. They check pupils' understanding of the subject content closely. Effective strategies help pupils recall important knowledge. Pupils often go back over previous work so that they remember what they have learned. Many pupils achieve well. However, there are a few pupils who do not do as well as they could.
From Ofsted's July 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2015 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
15.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 67% to 85% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 69% to 83% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 70% to 85% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.3
Avg class size
28.3
KS2
8
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Melbourne Junior School
Melbourne Junior School Sports Day
14 Jul 2026
Futures Week
22 Jun 2026
Melbourne Junior School First Aid training
8 Jun 2026
Astronomy comes to MJS
8 Jun 2026
Porridge
21 May 2026
Checkmate!
22 Apr 2026
From Melbourne Junior School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Melbourne Junior School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Melbourne Junior School.
- Premier Breakfast Club @ Melbourne InfsAt the school · Not yet graded
Term dates
Melbourne Junior School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028)
- Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Melbourne Junior School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Melbourne Junior School is in Derbyshire; for families living there:
- Derbyshire's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy 2026 to 2027 - 465KB
- How to apply: Apply for home to school transport assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 1 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
84%
Available places
234 pupils
280 places
46 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Derby
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Derby
Across Derbyshire council
Places available
9,875
Applications
7,189
Got 1st preference
94.5%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across Derbyshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
37
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
20.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
226
Total Pupils
115
Boys
111
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
18.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,904
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,089
Per pupil
£1305k
Total funding
£56k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.4%
Overall absence
7.6%
Persistent absence
236
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Melbourne Junior School
What are SATs results like at Melbourne Junior School?
Of the pupils at Melbourne Junior School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 85% reached the expected standard in reading and 83% did so in maths.
What is Melbourne Junior School's Ofsted rating?
Melbourne Junior School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Melbourne Junior School?
No fixed boundary. When Melbourne Junior School is oversubscribed, Derbyshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Melbourne Junior School?
Melbourne Junior School was not full in 2025: it ran at 84% of its 280 places.
How big are the classes at Melbourne Junior School?
Classes at Melbourne Junior School average 28.3 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Melbourne Junior School?
Melbourne Junior School has around 226 pupils on roll. 16% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Melbourne Junior School?
4.4% of sessions were missed at Melbourne Junior School in 2024/25. 7.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Melbourne Junior School?
Apply through Derbyshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Melbourne Junior School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
Does Melbourne Junior School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Premier Breakfast Club @ Melbourne Infs (registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Melbourne Junior School's term dates?
Melbourne Junior School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028); Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Melbourne Junior School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 1 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Melbourne Junior School?
Melbourne Junior School is at Packhorse Road, Melbourne, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 8JE.
Sources: Derbyshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)