Ofsted: Outstanding

Robert Bloomfield Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr John Linehan

corporate_fareBEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED

location_onShefford, SG17 5BU

language Visit Website phone 1462628800

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

992

school

Expected Standard

42%

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Age Range

9-13

summarize

Robert Bloomfield Academy is a Academy converter secondary school in Shefford, serving ages 9-13. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade.

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School Summary

Robert Bloomfield Academy is an academy converter in Shefford, Central Bedfordshire, admitting pupils aged 9-13. It is part of BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED. The school has approximately 974 pupils on roll, of whom 14% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 42% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 3% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #36 of 53 primaries in Central Bedfordshire and #13,399 of 15,231 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Outstanding. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Outstanding, behaviour and attitudes Outstanding, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Outstanding.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 21.7:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 1.5 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

42%

LA 50%

Reading68% LA 68%

Writing55% LA 62%

Maths63% LA 62%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

51%

LA 49%England 61%

Reading72% LA 68% · Eng 74%

Writing76% LA 61% · Eng 72%

Maths61% LA 62% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 48%England 60%

Reading70% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing77% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths62% LA 63% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.1

Read

LA -1.4

-2.8 to -1.3

-0.2

Write

LA -2.4

-0.9 to 0.6

-3.3

Maths

LA -2.0

-4.1 to -2.6

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

74%

LA 57%England 65%

Reading77% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 71% · Eng 78%

Maths88% LA 69% · Eng 79%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.0

Read

LA -2.0

-1.8 to -0.2

-1.8

Write

LA -2.1

-2.5 to -1.1

0.1

Maths

LA -2.3

-0.6 to 0.8

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

78%

LA 55%

Reading86% LA 66%

Writing88% LA 70%

Maths85% LA 65%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.2

Read

LA -2.2

-1 to 0.6

-0.1

Write

LA -1.9

-0.8 to 0.6

0.7

Maths

LA -2.1

0 to 1.4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

11 February 2025

Inspection Report

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25 June 2014

Inspection Report

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14 February 2012

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-02-11

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Outstanding

Behaviour

Outstanding

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Outstanding

2014-06-25

Exempt School Inspection EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2008-05-15

None EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

1.3%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.0%(10 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 974 pupils. During this period, there were 13 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.3%, which is below the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	974	13	1.3%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	980	16	1.6%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	983	17	1.7%	7.4%	2
2023/24 (Spring term)	985	11	1.1%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	982	19	1.9%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	990	19	1.9%	6.6%	2
2022/23 (Spring term)	992	15	1.5%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	993	19	1.9%	5.9%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	982	9	0.9%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	985	4	0.4%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	981	1	0.1%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	954	7	0.7%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	958	0	0.0%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	962	1	0.1%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	942	1	0.1%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	942	2	0.2%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	936	2	0.2%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	939	6	0.6%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	946	1	0.1%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	941	0	0.0%	3.8%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	941	6	0.6%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	943	0	0.0%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	951	0	0.0%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	922	2	0.2%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	927	3	0.3%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	929	2	0.2%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 51 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 43 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 41 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 32 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 22 pupils

Physical Disability 5 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

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Robert Bloomfield Academy

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in Central Bedfordshire

Cedars Upper School

Vandyke Upper School

Harlington Upper School

Houstone School

Priory Academy

Samuel Whitbread Academy