Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #36 in Bedford public Top 74% UK

St James' CofE Academy

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

personMrs Alison Barden

corporate_fareDIOCESE OF ST ALBANS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST

location_onBedford, MK40 4BD

language Visit Website phone 1234352721

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2012

groups

Students

200

school

Expected Standard

54%

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Demand Ratio

1.1x

summarize

St James' CofE Academy is a Academy converter primary school in Bedford, serving ages 5-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.1×) — apply through your local authority on time. Ranks in the top 74% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St James' CofE Academy is an academy converter in Bedford, admitting pupils aged 5-11. It is part of DIOCESE OF ST ALBANS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 192 pupils on roll, of whom 19% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 54% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 11% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #36 of 50 primaries in Bedford and #11,552 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2012. The school's current overall rating is Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.1× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 19.8:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 1.3 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

54%

LA 53%

Reading79% LA 70%

Writing61% LA 64%

Maths64% LA 66%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

52%

LA 54%England 61%

Reading61% LA 70% · Eng 74%

Writing65% LA 64% · Eng 72%

Maths65% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

71%

LA 51%England 60%

Reading93% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing82% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths86% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.7

Read

LA 0.2

1.2 to 6.1

-0.5

Write

LA -1.2

-2.8 to 1.8

2.4

Maths

LA -0.1

0.1 to 4.7

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

No digital report timeline available.

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2012-03-21

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2008-09-09

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

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 192 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	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	192	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	196	5	2.6%	0.9%	1
2023/24 (Summer term)	202	5	2.5%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	201	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	199	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	201	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	200	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	194	0	0.0%	0.6%	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 8 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 5 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 3 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils