Melbourn Village College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 May 2025

Pupils are proud of their school and are delighted by the improvements that have been made. They enjoy coming to Melbourn Village College to learn and to spend time with their friends. They feel settled because staff share clear and consistent expectations for behaviour and learning. Many value the wider opportunities on offer, such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the chance to visit China through the Mandarin Excellence Programme. However, other pupils do not take advantage of wider opportunities and therefore do not consistently benefit from different experiences. Many pupils achieve well. This is because they often benefit from learning a well-planned and well-taught curriculum. However, pupils' experiences of learning are not consistently strong across the school. Sometimes, pupils do not get the right support to help them meet the ambition of the curriculum. When this happens, they do not achieve as well as they could. Pupils behave well. They know what is expected of them and respond positively to the way staff apply the school rules. Learning is rarely disrupted. Pupils enjoy social times. They feel safe and happy as they chat with their friends, sit quietly or take part in sports and other activities.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not have a consistent approach to checking how well pupils have understood their learning. At times, teachers do not identify when pupils have misconceptions or provide them with the clear, direct feedback they need. As a result, some pupils fall behind and do not know what they need to do to improve. The school should ensure that staff check pupils' understanding effectively so that pupils receive the right support to make secure progress through the curriculum.
• At times, the school does not identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly enough. When such pupils are identified, the support provided is not consistently matched to their needs. This means that some pupils with SEND do not get the right help to keep up with their learning. The school should ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified promptly so that they are provided with the appropriate support to help them achieve well.
• The school's wider work to build pupils' resilience and confidence is not consistently effective. Some pupils do not benefit fully from the opportunities on offer to help them develop their independence. As a result, they are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be. The school should ensure that all pupils are supported to develop their strength of character and independence.
• The school does not have a strong enough understanding of the range of support available to pupils and families. This means that some pupils and their families do not get the right help when they need it. The school should strengthen its knowledge of the full range of internal and external support services so that pupils and families receive appropriate and timely help.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)