SCHOOL PROFILE

Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 143770
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 83.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

28 September 2022
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Bedford
Trust DIOCESE OF ST ALBANS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 176 176 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 89 50.6% of pupils
Male pupils 87 49.4% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

20.5%
4.3 pts below England
School 20.5%
Bedford 20.1%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

8.5%
11.8 pts below England
School 8.5%
Bedford 23.1%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Bedford 1.8%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
83.0%
146
White and Black Caribbean
4.0%
7
Any other White background
2.3%
4
Unclassified
1.7%
3
White and Asian
1.7%
3
Any other Mixed background
1.1%
2
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 19.9% 35 of 176 pupils
0.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 19.9%
Bedford 18.6%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.1% 30 pupils
England 14.8% 2.3 pts above
EHC plans 2.8% 5 pupils
England 6.0% 3.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Specific learning difficulty 15
Speech, language & communication 10
Social, emotional & mental health 6
Autistic spectrum disorder 3
Moderate learning difficulty 1

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

0.0% 60.4 pts below England
School 0.0%
Bedford 52.8%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

66.0%

7.8 pts below England

School 66.0%
Bedford 69.5%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

0.0%

70.3 pts below England

School 0.0%
Bedford 64.1%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

60.0%

12.0 pts below England

School 60.0%
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

5.21%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.00 pts lower than England
School 5.21%
Bedford 5.81%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

12.42%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.39 pts lower than England
School 12.42%
Bedford 15.50%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
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

83.8% 4.4 pts below England
Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy
83.8%
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