Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up Places Available emoji_events #122 in Cambridgeshire public Top 70% UK

Buckden CofE Primary School

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

personMrs Michelle Heather

corporate_fareACT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST

location_onSt Neots, PE19 5TT

language Visit Website phone 1480810241

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

327

school

Expected Standard

56%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Buckden CofE Primary School is a Academy converter primary school in St Neots, serving ages 5-11. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Ranks in the top 70% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

Buckden CofE Primary School is an academy converter in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, admitting pupils aged 5-11. It is part of ACT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 328 pupils on roll, of whom 12% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 56% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 4% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #122 of 195 primaries in Cambridgeshire and #10,048 of 14,143 nationally.

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

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.2:1. There is 1 teaching vacancy.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.3 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

56%

LA 57%

Reading71% LA 73%

Writing73% LA 66%

Maths60% LA 71%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

52%

LA 56%England 61%

Reading81% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing73% LA 66% · Eng 72%

Maths71% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

63%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading80% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing89% LA 66% · Eng 71%

Maths70% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.3

Read

LA 0.5

-3.0 to 0.4

0.4

Write

LA -0.7

-1.2 to 2.1

-2.2

Maths

LA -0.2

-3.8 to -0.6

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

82%

LA 61%England 65%

Reading89% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Writing93% LA 73% · Eng 78%

Maths89% LA 75% · Eng 79%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.1

Read

LA 0.2

-3.0 to 0.7

0.8

Write

LA -1.0

-0.9 to 2.5

-3.0

Maths

LA -0.4

-4.6 to -1.3

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 61%

Reading70% LA 75%

Writing91% LA 75%

Maths63% LA 72%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.8

Read

LA 0.2

-2.6 to 1

Write

LA -0.9

2.3 to 5.7

-3.2

Maths

LA -0.6

-4.8 to -1.6

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

23 April 2025

Inspection Report

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10 December 2020

Inspection Report

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19 March 2019

Inspection Report

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08 July 2015

Inspection Report

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11 June 2014

Inspection Report

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12 March 2014

Inspection Report

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27 June 2012

Inspection Report

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14 February 2012

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-04-23

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

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2019-03-19

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2015-07-08

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2014-03-12

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

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

0.3%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.3%(1 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: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 328 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.3%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	328	1	0.3%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	329	1	0.3%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	341	5	1.5%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	341	1	0.3%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	339	2	0.6%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	333	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	327	1	0.3%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	325	2	0.6%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	338	2	0.6%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	344	6	1.7%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	343	2	0.6%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	332	2	0.6%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	327	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	330	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	311	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	311	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	308	1	0.3%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	293	1	0.3%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	290	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	286	1	0.3%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	283	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	279	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	270	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	268	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	269	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	270	1	0.4%	0.5%

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.

Specific Learning Difficulty 21 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 17 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 13 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 13 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 7 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

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Buckden CofE Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

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 Primary Schools in Cambridgeshire

Histon and Impington Brook Primary School

Histon and Impington Park Primary School

Ridgefield Primary School

Kings Hedges Primary School

Wisbech St Mary CofE Academy

Ermine Street Church Academy