Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #2 in Bedford public Top 24% UK

Cauldwell School

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

personMrs Judith Apps

corporate_fareHEART ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onBedford, MK42 9DR

language Visit Website phone 1234301400

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2013

groups

Students

419

school

Expected Standard

74%

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Demand Ratio

1.2x

summarize

Cauldwell School is a Academy converter primary school in Bedford, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.2×) — apply through your local authority on time. Ranks in the top 24% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Cauldwell School is an academy converter in Bedford, admitting pupils aged 4-11. It is part of HEART ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 419 pupils on roll, of whom 26% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 74% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 2% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #2 of 50 primaries in Bedford and #1,472 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2013. The school's current overall rating is Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.2× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.4 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%

Writing75% LA 64%

Maths92% LA 66%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

53%

LA 54%England 61%

Reading72% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing64% LA 64% · Eng 72%

Maths72% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

109

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

46%

LA 51%England 60%

Reading73% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing47% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths80% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.6

Read

LA 0.2

-0.2 to 3.3

-2.1

Write

LA -1.2

-3.8 to -0.4

3.1

Maths

LA -0.1

1.5 to 4.8

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

61%

LA 55%England 65%

Reading70% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing73% LA 67% · Eng 78%

Maths77% LA 71% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.2

Read

LA -1.5

-1.5 to 1.9

-1.5

Write

LA -2.5

-3.1 to 0.0

2.1

Maths

LA -2.1

0.6 to 3.6

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

60%

LA 45%

Reading71% LA 56%

Writing67% LA 65%

Maths80% LA 57%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.4

Read

LA -2.9

-1.3 to 2.1

-1.3

Write

LA -2.4

-2.9 to 0.3

0.1

Maths

LA -2.7

-1.4 to 1.6

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

No digital report timeline available.

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2013-06-19

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2007-01-10

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

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 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 419 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, 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)	419	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	416	3	0.7%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	419	4	1.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	417	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	416	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	415	2	0.5%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	419	2	0.5%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	419	1	0.2%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	411	5	1.2%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	410	3	0.7%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	409	1	0.2%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	410	3	0.7%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	408	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	404	2	0.5%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	401	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	401	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	401	4	1.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	401	1	0.2%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	402	1	0.2%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	402	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	410	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	410	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	406	0	0.0%	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.

Speech, Language & Communication 45 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 30 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 15 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 9 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 7 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Physical Disability 2 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils