OFSTED
12 March 2025
Latest ungraded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
5 February 2020
Graded inspection
Good
Published
1 March 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Primary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Bedford
Trust
THE HILLS ACADEMY
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
442
430 full-time ·
12 part-time
Female pupils
212
48.0% of pupils
Male pupils
230
52.0% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
15.3 pts
below England
School
9.5%
Bedford
20.1%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
2.6 pts
above England
School
22.9%
Bedford
23.1%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.6 pts
above England
School
1.6%
Bedford
1.8%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
61.3%
271
Any other White background
7.9%
35
White and Black Caribbean
5.2%
23
Indian
4.8%
21
White and Asian
3.4%
15
African
3.2%
14
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
7.5%
33 of
442 pupils
13.4 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
9.8 pts
below
England
6.0%
3.5 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 2 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
EXPECTED STANDARD
Reading, writing & maths
63.0%
2.6 pts
above England
EXPECTED STANDARD
73.0%
Reading
0.8 pts below England
School
73.0%
Bedford
69.5%
East of England
72.9%
England
73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD
76.0%
Writing
5.7 pts above England
School
76.0%
Bedford
64.1%
East of England
68.0%
England
70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD
77.0%
Maths
5.0 pts above England
School
77.0%
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
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
3.80%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.42 pts
lower than
England
School
3.80%
Bedford
5.81%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
6.93%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
8.89 pts
lower than
England
School
6.93%
Bedford
15.50%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
0.00%
Severe absence
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
105.2%
17.1 pts
above England
The Hills Academy
105.2%
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.