SCHOOL PROFILE

St Mary's VA CofE Lower School

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 109617
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 150 Published school capacity
Capacity used 89.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 9 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

3 March 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Strong standard
Personal development Strong standard
Leadership & governance Strong standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

22 September 2021
Graded inspection Good
Published 10 November 2021
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Central Bedfordshire
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 134 110 full-time · 24 part-time
Female pupils 68 50.7% of pupils
Male pupils 66 49.3% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

9.7%
15.1 pts below England
School 9.7%
Central Bedfordshire 14.8%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

3.0%
17.3 pts below England
School 3.0%
Central Bedfordshire 10.7%
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%
Central Bedfordshire 2.0%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
89.6%
120
Any other White background
3.0%
4
White and Asian
2.2%
3
African
1.5%
2
Any other Mixed background
1.5%
2
White and Black Caribbean
1.5%
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 17.9% 24 of 134 pupils
2.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.9%
Central Bedfordshire 18.2%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 13.4% 18 pupils
England 14.8% 1.4 pts below
EHC plans 4.5% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 1.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 8
Social, emotional & mental health 7
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
Moderate learning difficulty 3
Hearing impairment 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.

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

4.01%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.21 pts lower than England
School 4.01%
Central Bedfordshire 5.90%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

4.82%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

11.00 pts lower than England
School 4.82%
Central Bedfordshire 14.22%
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%
Central Bedfordshire 1.77%
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

89.3% 1.1 pts above England
St Mary's VA CofE Lower School
89.3%
Central Bedfordshire
92.8%
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