Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #24 in Bedford public Top 60% UK

Shortstown Primary School

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

personMrs Denise Cottam

corporate_fareHEART ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onBedford, MK42 0GS

language Visit Website phone 1234740881

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2021

groups

Students

475

school

Expected Standard

60%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Shortstown Primary School is a Academy converter primary school in Bedford, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.0×) — apply through your local authority on time. Ranks in the top 60% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

Shortstown Primary School is an academy converter in Bedford, admitting pupils aged 2-11. It is part of HEART ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 488 pupils on roll, of whom 27% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 60% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #24 of 50 primaries in Bedford and #9,062 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2021. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.0× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 22.1:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.5 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

60%

LA 53%

Reading75% LA 70%

Writing70% LA 64%

Maths77% LA 66%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 54%England 61%

Reading67% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing60% LA 64% · Eng 72%

Maths62% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 51%England 60%

Reading60% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing51% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths72% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.1

Read

LA 0.2

-0.7 to 2.9

-1.2

Write

LA -1.2

-2.9 to 0.5

2.0

Maths

LA -0.1

0.3 to 3.6

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 55%England 65%

Reading66% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing71% LA 67% · Eng 78%

Maths71% LA 71% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.0

Read

LA -1.5

-4.1 to 0.1

-2.5

Write

LA -2.5

-4.4 to -0.5

-2.0

Maths

LA -2.1

-3.8 to -0.1

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

46%

LA 45%

Reading54% LA 56%

Writing65% LA 65%

Maths62% LA 57%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.4

Read

LA -2.9

-2.7 to 1.9

0.7

Write

LA -2.4

-1.5 to 2.9

-0.5

Maths

LA -2.7

-2.6 to 1.6

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

12 October 2021

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

06 June 2017

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2021-10-12

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2013-04-24

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2008-12-02

None EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

0.8%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.4%(2 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 488 pupils. During this period, there were 4 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.8%, 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)	488	4	0.8%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	481	1	0.2%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	488	10	2.0%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	480	3	0.6%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	479	3	0.6%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	477	1	0.2%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	475	1	0.2%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	462	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	472	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	469	5	1.1%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	459	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	455	5	1.1%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	447	4	0.9%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	430	4	0.9%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	448	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	448	3	0.7%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	433	1	0.2%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	468	1	0.2%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	457	3	0.7%	0.5%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	450	6	1.3%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	447	5	1.1%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	446	7	1.6%	0.4%	1
2017/18 (Autumn term)	435	6	1.4%	0.5%	0

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

accessibility_new

psychology_alt

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.

Moderate Learning Difficulty 48 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 40 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 32 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 13 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 9 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

Top Primary Schools in Bedford

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Cotton End Forest School

Requires improvement

location_on Bedford, MK45 3AG

emoji_events #1 in LA

Cauldwell School

Good

location_on Bedford, MK42 9DR

emoji_events #2 in LA

Elstow School

Good

location_on Bedford, MK42 9GP

emoji_events #3 in LA

Great Denham Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Bedford, MK40 4GG

emoji_events #4 in LA

Hazeldene School

Good

location_on Bedford, MK41 9AT

emoji_events #5 in LA

Turvey Primary School

Good

location_on Bedford, MK43 8DY

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Bedford arrow_forward

Shortstown Primary 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

Elstow School

Great Denham Primary School

Hazeldene School

Turvey Primary School