Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #3 in Bedford public Top 24% UK

Elstow School

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

personMrs Sarah Ciantar

corporate_fareADVANTAGE SCHOOLS

location_onBedford, MK42 9GP

language Visit Website phone 1234302300

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2016

groups

Students

416

school

Expected Standard

74%

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Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

Elstow School is a Academy converter primary school in Bedford, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 24% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Elstow School is an academy converter in Bedford, admitting pupils aged 4-11. It is part of ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS. The school has approximately 418 pupils on roll, of whom 22% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 74% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 5% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #3 of 50 primaries in Bedford and #2,170 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2016. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 23.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.8 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

74%

LA 53%

Reading87% LA 70%

Writing80% LA 64%

Maths82% LA 66%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

70%

LA 54%England 61%

Reading82% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing82% LA 64% · Eng 72%

Maths82% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

64%

LA 51%England 60%

Reading85% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing80% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths83% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.7

Read

LA 0.2

0.1 to 3.3

0.9

Write

LA -1.2

-0.6 to 2.4

1.9

Maths

LA -0.1

0.3 to 3.4

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

60%

LA 55%England 65%

Reading67% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing83% LA 67% · Eng 78%

Maths67% LA 71% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.2

Read

LA -1.5

-1.8 to 1.4

0.4

Write

LA -2.5

-1.1 to 1.8

-0.8

Maths

LA -2.1

-2.2 to 0.6

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

46%

LA 45%

Reading61% LA 56%

Writing68% LA 65%

Maths64% LA 57%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-3.4

Read

LA -2.9

-4.9 to -1.9

-2.9

Write

LA -2.4

-4.4 to -1.4

-1.8

Maths

LA -2.7

-3.2 to -0.4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

25 February 2025

Inspection Report

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08 January 2020

Inspection Report

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06 April 2017

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2016-11-02

Exempt School Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2009-02-04

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

1.0%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.7%(3 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 418 pupils. During this period, there were 4 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.0%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	418	4	1.0%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	413	3	0.7%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	405	3	0.7%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	410	8	2.0%	0.7%	1
2023/24 (Autumn term)	415	4	1.0%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	415	7	1.7%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	416	2	0.5%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	414	5	1.2%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	414	3	0.7%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	418	5	1.2%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	420	10	2.4%	0.5%	1
2020/21 (Summer term)	423	5	1.2%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	420	1	0.2%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	413	2	0.5%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	410	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	410	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	407	4	1.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	416	10	2.4%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	412	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	411	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	413	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	406	2	0.5%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	406	0	0.0%	0.5%	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 33 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 18 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 11 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Visual Impairment 2 pupils

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Elstow School

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

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 Bedford

Cotton End Forest School

Cauldwell School

Great Denham Primary School

Hazeldene School

Turvey Primary School

Castle Newnham School