School Chooser

Margaret McMillan Nursery School

Nursery · ages 0-5MixedLocal authority nursery school76 pupilsNurseryLondonIslington
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, May 2026
Pupils from low-income families16%Far fewer than most schools
Pupils per teacher16.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll76Census January 2026

Margaret McMillan Nursery School is a local authority nursery school in London for boys and girls aged 0 to 5. It has 76 pupils. About 16 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Hornsey Rise, Islington, London, N19 3SF020 7281 2745margaretmcmillan.islington.sch.ukMrs Karen Smith headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 12 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
19 October 2021UngradedSchool remains Good

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Islington council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll76Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families13%16% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English30%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support26%20 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan0%0 pupils with a plan
Boys and girls35 / 41
White British pupils29%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), emotional and mental health (2), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll768184899681
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals13%17%19%27%22%33%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language30%43%44%55%53%49%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support22%14%24%20%12%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%0%0%0%0%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers4.0full-time equivalent, 4 people
Pupils per teacher16.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants1.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£60,296
Teachers who left in the year50%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.62023/24

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£19,981England £7,738. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£19,678England £7,697. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,634England £3,480
Money in reserve24%A lot put by: £341k, £4,731 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£22kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£19,981spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1,18912 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate119 per 1,000 people31% higher than the England average
Typical house price£665,000Islington
Nearest bus stop80 mHornsey Rise, 16 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ashmount Primary SchoolCouncil210 m390Good 202346Compare
Coleridge Primary SchoolCouncil420 m882No overall grade 202593Compare
City of London Academy, Highgate HillFree school520 m641Good 202460Compare
The Bridge KeystoneFree school520 m56Good 2022Compare
Whitehall Park SchoolFree school530 m202Good 202222Compare
Kestrel House SchoolIndependent (grammar)550 m40Not inspectedCompare
Duncombe Primary SchoolCouncil590 m378Good 202381Compare
Arts and Media School IslingtonFoundation880 m577Good 202322Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Margaret McMillan Nursery School a good school?

Margaret McMillan Nursery School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from May 2026 rated its teaching as as expected.

What is Margaret McMillan Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 12 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as as expected.

How many pupils does Margaret McMillan Nursery School have?

76 pupils aged 0 to 5 were on the roll in January 2026.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Hornsey Rise, Islington, London, N19 3SF
Telephone
020 7281 2745
Website
www.margaretmcmillan.islington.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Karen Smith
Type of school
Local authority nursery school (Local authority nursery school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Nursery school, ages 0-5, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Islington
Ward
Hillrise
Constituency
Islington North
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100384 · LAESTAB 2061009

Where these figures come from