SCHOOL PROFILE

Priory Primary School

Primary Foundation school URN 109436
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 206 Published school capacity
Capacity used 103.9% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

5 November 2024
Latest published outcome Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Foundation school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
Local authority Bedford
Trust The Leap Community Trust
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 214 214 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 108 50.5% of pupils
Male pupils 106 49.5% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

26.2%
1.4 pts above England
School 26.2%
Bedford 20.1%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

82.7%
62.4 pts above England
School 82.7%
Bedford 23.1%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.4%
0.4 pts above England
School 1.4%
Bedford 1.8%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Bangladeshi
29.0%
62
African
17.8%
38
Any other White background
16.4%
35
Pakistani
6.1%
13
White British
6.1%
13
Any other Asian background
5.6%
12
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 23.4% 50 of 214 pupils
2.5 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.4%
Bedford 18.6%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 12.6% 27 pupils
England 14.8% 2.2 pts below
EHC plans 10.8% 23 pupils
England 6.0% 4.7 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 21
Moderate learning difficulty 17
Social, emotional & mental health 5
Specific learning difficulty 4
Autistic spectrum disorder 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

50.0% 10.4 pts below England
School 50.0%
Bedford 52.8%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

58.0%

15.8 pts below England

School 58.0%
Bedford 69.5%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

75.0%

4.7 pts above England

School 75.0%
Bedford 64.1%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

67.0%

5.0 pts below England

School 67.0%
Bedford 66.1%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.09%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.12 pts lower than England
School 6.09%
Bedford 5.81%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.00%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.18 pts higher than England
School 20.00%
Bedford 15.50%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.94%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.14 pts higher than England
School 2.94%
Bedford 1.52%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

103.9% 15.7 pts above England
Priory Primary School
103.9%
Bedford
83.7%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information